


blow a whistle for the hotties

by fucklinson (orphan_account)



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: Cheating, Crossdressing, Fingering, M/M, Past Sexual Abuse, cheerleader!Louis, everyone is kinda an asshole in their own way, football captain!Harry, in which everyone hates liam, louis is a major fangirl, no promise of a happy ending, some freshmen are going to ruin everything, some violence, thats a spoiler, the best way to over somebody is to get under somebody else, thigh fucking
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-05-27
Updated: 2014-07-26
Packaged: 2017-12-10 07:27:42
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 28
Words: 116,396
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/783404
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/fucklinson
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Louis Tomlinson is used to having girls and boys throw themselves at him. He knows he’s attractive and an all around good time. The one thing he didn’t expect coming to his new high school was an offered place on the cheerleading squad. Being the captain of the football team, Harry Styles is the king of Cheshire high school – everyone loves him. He has the confidence and looks to flirt with anyone he desires. One day at practice, he spots the boy cheerleader and is set on making him his. Thing is, Louis doesn't want a relationship. But Harry always gets what he wants.</p><p>And he wants Louis.</p><p>-or-</p><p>Where football players lay down with boys and cheerleaders break their toys, and it's all very ugly in its own beautiful way.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. prologue

**Author's Note:**

> that second summary is from a comment from Lex on Chapter 21 that I loved so much <3  
> -  
> this story is bascially american everything but with british town names. football is actually soccer. harry has two younger siblings, gemma and oliver. all characters mentioned, unless otherwise noted, are the same age (senior in highschool). any more questions you might have referring to the layout, feel free to leave a comment.  
> (and please remember, this is a fanFICTION. so some things might be changed in order for the story to progress. football in this story is not the same in the slightest as regular soccer. some examples: halftimes, played at night, cheerleaders, etc.
> 
> to get an email whenever i update, click subscribe up above 
> 
> i try to thank everyone who recommends/talks kindly about my story, so if you see anything of the sort please send me the link on my ask.fm? or tag me on tumblr either #bravolarry or #fucklinson (i track both!)
> 
> warning; I AM VERY BAD AT CHECKING MY OWN GRAMMAR AND SPELLING OK 
> 
> ♡ ask.fm/bravolarry ♡  
> ♡ bravolarry.tumblr.com ♡  
> ♡ twitter.com/bawfth ♡  
> ♡ kik; bravolarry ♡
> 
> Copyright © 2013-2014

Taking a deep breath, Louis Tomlinson builds up the courage to step out of his car and on to school grounds. This is his fourth high school since he was a freshman, hoping to be his last. His mom, Jay, has been chasing jobs around the United Kingdom for years. Her new one, a manager at Office Depot, she promises will last at least until senior year is over. Louis has heard it all before, so he knows to brace himself for a sudden move. Luckily, he was able to arrive in Cheshire before school started, saving him from awkwardly joining the school half way through the year.

Louis knows he’s a fit young lad, and he knows he can make anyone drop to their knees with a single look. He’s bisexual. And he was fine with it. Both genders fit his needs and he will fuck either or. He just  _prefers_ guys.

In the past, he has stayed away from relationships. Yes he’s not a virgin, and yes he’s fucked with boys before but he's never felt anything. His stomach didn’t swarm with butterflies or fireworks explode whenever he kissed someone like in the movies. He doesn’t have a problem with careless fucking, heck; he lost his virginity at 13  - of course to a girl. The first  _boy_  was Aiden; a nice lad he met while living in London. Aiden was in college and Louis was in his first year of high school and they got over the top drunk at a club during the summer. It ended with them stumbling back to Aiden’s flat and Louis getting fucked in the arse on the living room floor, against the wall, and across the kitchen table.

Something you would never expect from Louis? He’s a level seven gymnast. Jay made him go into gymnastics at a young age, seeing if he would like it. He  _loved_  it. He loves the way he can do a spilt with no trouble while others can’t even do a simple cartwheel. He smirks when he thinks of the compliments he’s received from the guys he’s had sex with in the past few months. All of them  _adore_  his flexibility; it comes in handy, he’s not going to lie.

His eyes flicker to the dashboard, the digital clock reading eight. He has five minutes to find his homeroom, and if he wastes any more time in his car he would be late.

Checking his hair in the mirror, one last time, Louis pulls the car handle inward. Today he chose a simple black v-neck shirt with denim skinny jeans that compliment his arse with his favorite white TOMS to finish the outfit. It’s a perfect first day outfit, in his opinion, even it’s obnoxiously tight.

The door swings open and Louis is temporarily blinded by the sunlight that stresses his eyes. With a few quick blinks to clear the black spots in his vision, he focuses on the front gates of his new school.

Teenagers of all shapes, sizes, and color make their way to the front doors. A group of girls in fitted mini skirts eye him up and down, giggling when he sends a wink their way.

He is and always will be a flirt. That’s just who he is. Boy or girl he likes watching people blush under his gaze. He enjoys being bubbly and sassy, that’s one thing he loves about himself. 

The bell rings and students start to file out of the hallway. Louis easily finds room 213 being it was one of the first doors he walked by. He enters the classroom with nobody taking notice in him as he takes a random seat in the third row near a wall. He watches silently as students greet their friends happily, asking how their summer was and how’ve they been. He notices the way another group of girls all turn their attention towards him, and this time he bites his lip innocently. He swears one girl would’ve fainted if she weren’t seated.

“Fuck he’s attractive,” he abruptly hears someone from behind him whisper. He smirks, purposely turning around to face the –  _guy?_

His smirk is replaced with two eyebrows rising in surprise when he makes eye contact with a brown eyed, dark haired, varsity jacket wearing boy. He thinks for a second it wasn’t directed towards him, but looking around he sees only girls behind him. He turns back to see the same boy staring right at him, giving him a look that screams ‘I want to fuck you.’ Louis knows; he’s received that look  _many_  times before.

Deciding he actually thinks this guy is attractive enough for his taste, he pushes his chair back until it’s touching the kid’s desk. Leaning both of his arms on the surface, the blonde boy next to him’s mouth drops open.

“Hey,” Louis starts off, voice low and he hopes sounds seducing. What if this guy is just joking? What if he's straight? What if he isn’t interested –

“Hey sexy,” Okay, definitely interested. “You new?”

Louis rests his chin in the palm of his hand, “Why yes I am, and I couldn’t help but notice you called me attractive just now. That  _was_  you correct?” he laughs internally at himself for sounding so formal.

The guy shrugs, placing his hands close Louis’ free one lying on the desk, “Can’t help you have the one of the biggest arses I’ve seen.”

Louis puts a hand over his heart, “I’m flattered…”

“Zayn.”

“…Zayn. You aren’t so bad looking yourself. And by the way my name’s Louis,” he winks, about to slide back to his desk when he notices a girl taking the seat next to him. He halts his movements, noticing it’s the same girl that almost fainted a minute ago.

Not wanting to talk to her, he fully faces the two boys again. He eyes the blonde boy next to him, “You’re cute. What’s your name?”

The blonde perks up, “I’m Niall. Pleasure to meet ya Louis!”

Louis laughs, eyes crinkling at the edges, “Yeah you too.”

The teacher interrupts their conversation, shushing everyone to take attendance. Louis faces forward again, with the girl gone from the seat.

He silently shakes his head in disbelief. He  _already_  has someone who wants to get in his pants, not including the girls. He thinks that’s a record, but he doesn’t have time to remember stuff like that.

Too soon for his liking, the second bell rings. Louis slowly stands, stretching his arms over his head while surveying the room.

He doesn’t jump when he feels a hand on his arse, and looking sideways, he sees Zayn retreat his hand. Feeling around in his back pocket, he notices his phone is missing.

Laughing loudly, he picks up his empty bag and hurries to the front of the room. He bumps the thief, smirking when he sees his phone in Zayn’s hand. With a few more taps to the screen, the darker boy hands back the device.

“Text me,” and with another light smack to his arse, Louis watches Zayn retreat down the hallway. In his next class, something to do with science, his phone buzzes with a new message. The name has him laughing to himself.

To: Louis

From: Big Cock ;)

i know you like the name

To: Big Cock ;)

From: Louis

i hope you aren’t joking

To: Louis

From: Big Cock ;)

would you like to find out

Louis clicks his tongue in thought. No, he  _should_ probably say away from doing anything with some random guy on the first day, but deep down Louis knows he would appreciate a good fuck.

To: Big Cock ;)

From: Louis

name the time and place and im there

He doesn’t check for a reply, sliding his phone back into his pocket and pretending to listen for the rest of the lesson. It’s really nothing worth writing notes for, just a review of what thing they should know to begin the year.

The next two periods drag on with no excitement, with Louis left to play with the sleeve of his sweater. He wasn’t wearing it when he arrived, but it was chilly in maths.

When his stomach starts to growl with hunger, the bell rings to signal gym. He has lunch afterwards, but Louis reminds himself he needs to lose three pounds. No eating cafeteria junk. If there’s a salad, or something light, it will due.

Informed they will be changing for the first day, Louis steps into the busy locker room. What seems like hundreds of half naked boys crowd around, making Louis shiver. He likes his body, but it’s not for flaunting around in a locker room with no boys to appreciate it.

He goes to his assigned locker, doing the combination and changing into his extra pair of clothes. He’s fast with the bottoms, but when he goes to pull his shirt on, hands come to rest on his exposed hips. This time, he jumps away. He relaxes at the sight of Zayn, but is still tense with all the other guys in the room.

“You never answered my message,” Zayn presses Louis against the locker, the cold surface making his back arch and goose bumps rise on his arms.

“Busy trying to learn, that’s what school’s for isn’t it?” he outlines Zayn’s also bare chest, dragging his fingers over the well defined 6-pack.

“What about now then?”

Louis rolls his eyes, lightly pushing Zayn away so he could pull his shirt over his head. “I’m not the type to skip, sorry. But don’t fret,” he gives his cheek a tap, “I have lunch next period.” With a wink goodbye, Louis struts off to the exit, making sure his bum is swaying side to side to make Zayn drool. And sure enough when he looks back, that’s exactly what he’s doing.

Stepping out of the locker room, he just makes it in time for the teacher to blow his whistle. “Listen up ladies, I’m Coach Cowell. I’ll be your gym instructor for this year. Now, we are going to start off with a physical fitness test. All boys line up on this line while girls go on this-“

“Coach Cowell! Can I just ask the question I was going to ask before the test?” a petite blonde girl with huge breasts steps in front of the coach. Her hair is curled to perfection with make up drowning her eyes. She wears white Nike sneakers and by those shoes Louis could automatically pick up she's a cheerleader.

“Alright, Tiffany go ahead. You have five minutes before I continue with my lesson.”

The girl smiles brightly, clapping her hands together to get everyone’s attention. “Okay! Hi guys! As you probably know, my name is Tiffany and I’m co-caption of the cheering squad. Does anyone here know how to do a front flip from standing position?”

No one raises their hands, and Tiffany sighs. Without another person on varsity, they won’t make the team number cutline. Sure, she could easily move a girl from JV up, but that means they would have a weak –

“I can.”

Tiffany searches the group of faces for the person who just said that. She lands on a guy whose arm is half up. She cocks an eyebrow, “Oh really? Care to demonstrate?”

Louis puts his hand down, making his way over to the girl. He doesn't fail to notice everyone staring straight at him, shocked into silence. But he doesn't care, he  _wants_ to show off his ability.

The blonde girl watches in amazement as the boy carelessly bounces up, tucks his feet into his chest, performs the front flip, and lands perfectly on his feet. He seems to think nothing of it, openly smirking at her reaction.

“You. I. I mean. Whoa! Do you know anything else?”

Louis thinks for a second, an idea popping into his head. He steps back a few feet, rolls his ankle, makes sure there’s a path clear before kicking both of his feet up and back somersaulting. His looks like a slinky tumbling backwards, and on the fourth one, he jumps up and does a cross flip onto his feet again. The room goes silent for a moment, and Louis turns to Tiffany for an opinion. She opens and closes her mouth like a fish, trying to form words. Her hands come together, clapping fast instead.

“Oh my gosh you're amazing!” she runs over to him, hands flying in the air with her words, “I’ve never seen a guy do a quadruple back somersault with a full twist! Are you a gymnast?”

“Level seven,” he states proudly.

“Level  _seven_?!” her eyes grow impossibly bigger, “You have to be on the cheering squad. Please please  _please_? I will get down on my knees and beg.”

“That’s not the only thing you’ll get on your knees for!” a guy comments, making the whole class burst with laughter.

“Shut up Tony!” she hisses, looking back at Louis, “What do you say?”

“Cheerleading?” Louis snorts, “Sorry hun that’s not my thing. I don’t do school sports.”

Coach Cowell comes out of his office, “Alright Tiffany I have to start testing.”

The girl turns to Louis with pleading eyes, “Please think about it? We need you on the team – like really badly. Here,” she pulls out a sharpie from the middle of her cleavage, grabbing Louis’ arm. She scribbles a number in big bubbly letters, “there’s my number. Call me if you change your mind, yeah?”

Louis puts his arm back at his side, “Don’t count on it.”

-o-

Louis moans, tightening his grip on Zayn’s neck as the taller boy sucks on the dip of his collarbone. The hot water from the locker room shower pours on both of their naked bodies, making their skin slide with each other easily. Zayn rocks his hips against the smaller boy’s groin, their dicks rubbing together to create incredible friction.

Louis moves with Zayn’s grinding, throwing his head back against the tile wall he's pressed against. He reaches in the middle of them, taking Zayn’s huge cock in his grip. His hands seem child size when trying to wrap around it, and it makes whimpers escape his lips at the sight.

“Fuck Zayn you weren’t lying,” he pants. The darker boy moves his lips to the other side of his collarbone, sucking another red and purple bruise while Louis strokes him teasingly slow. He slides his thumb over the slit, causing a moan to escape the lips attached to his neck.

Louis squeezes the head, not looking at Zayn who picks his head up, “You were so hot doing those moves for Tiffany,” he attacks the boy’s lips, licking every inch of inside his mouth. The water trickles down their faces, droplets from their noses dripping into the kiss. Squeezing his hand firmer, Louis picks up the speed as he strokes Zayn, tongue battling with the boy. Zayn’s mouth on his feels like it's trying to eat him. Not one of the best kissers, Louis thinks.

“You should do it,” Zayn moves his mouth to behind the boy’s ear, sucking yet another spot but this time on one of Louis’ most sensitive areas. He moans loudly, not caring if someone hears. Everyone should be out to their next class anyway.

“I’m not a cheerleader,” he growls, cupping the balls under his throbbing cock, massaging them and getting a delicious noise from Zayn.

“You got the arse for it, and you could be mine-“ Louis cuts him off with a kiss, tongue slotting with his, hands forgetting the cock to scratch down Zayn’s shoulder blades. He really doesn’t want to cheerlead – prancing around in degrading outfits shouting useless crap to try and pump up a bored crowd – that’s not his thing.

Without warning, Louis feels a finger circle his hole. With the water, he isn’t worried enough to pull away to ask if Zayn has lube. He  _should_  see if he has a condom, but that would ruin it if he had to leave and get it.

He slowly feels the digit enter him, going knuckle deep before it’s pulled back out. He bites down on Zayn’s shoulder hissing, “yes, yes, yes- oh!” he moans when a second is added, thrusting itself in and out of the tight muscle with a rhythm. Louis fucks himself on the fingers while Zayn scissors and stretches the entrance open, tongue still invading Louis’ mouth.

“More more more,” Louis whines into the kiss, “need you inside me  _now_ ,”

Zayn doesn’t need to be told twice. He flips Louis over so his stomach is against the wall, removing his fingers from the arse. He pumps his cock a few times, spreading Louis’ arse cheeks open to display the pink muscle.

He lines himself up, head brushing the rim. Louis moans, trying to force himself down on the dick. His own is painfully hard against his stomach and the wall, and when he goes to touch it Zayn slaps his hand away. “Gonna make you cum from just my dick in your arse,” he breathes hotly in his ear, about to push in when there was a loud  _bang!_   from outside the shower.

“ _Zayn_! Get your fucking dick out of whatever slut you have in there and get changed! There’s a game today and the bus leaves in ten minutes!”

Louis and Zayn freeze, the voice from outside sounding angry enough to kill. With a mumbled ‘fuck I totally forgot. sorry, ill text you’, Zayn sprints out of the shower without even a goodbye kiss. Louis is left with the water still running and a hard on, afraid to go out to see whoever’s voice that was. It sounded young enough to be a student, but by the look in Zayn’s eyes, it could be a coach - hold on a minute did that guy just call Louis a  _slut_?

He burst through the door, seeing Zayn and the mystery guy already gone. He slams the shower door shut, fuming from the words he was just called. That guy had no fucking right saying that. Louis can do whatever the hell he pleases, he doesn’t give a fuck about anyone.

Looking down at the number on his arm, a little faded from the water, Louis rips his phone out from his bag. Punching in the numbers, he types out a message and presses send.

To: Tiffany

From: Louis

ill join your team 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AMAZING banner credit: howtolovewithlarry.tumblr.com


	2. chapter i

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Louis blows Ben, befriends Liam, and catches Harry's attention.

Louis has never been interested in school sports before. He was on the dancing team junior year – for a month. All the group did was sit around and gossip, mainly because girls populated it. They never did any real dancing or exercising so Louis quit. But he did teach the team two dances, so he felt accomplished.

He doesn’t know what to anticipate from cheering. After talking to Tiffany via text messages, he was informed he would be starting practice tomorrow. In the mean time, he reminded himself he has to put effort into making friends. Sure, he has people like Zayn who want to fuck him, but they don’t actually want to get to know him. He’s had friends in the past, a lot he must add. Starting and keeping a conversation with a random person comes naturally to Louis. His personality is so inviting and cheerful, how could people not like him?

After Zayn fled from the locker room, he was left alone to fix himself to go back to class.  _That_  took twenty minutes. As soon as he checked his hair in the mirror one last time, the end-of-lunch bell rung. He gathered his bag, sliding it on his shoulder before stepping out in the hallway. Half the guys seemed to have disappeared. Or the ones Louis found attractive at least. Now there’s no one he would actually  _want_  to talk to.

-o-

The next day after shutting the door and locking his car, Louis walks up the pathway to the front. He’s brought a practice change of clothes – making sure to pack sneakers for cheering. Tiffany said he would have to be quick to learn things and go straight into stunts – but it’s nothing he can’t handle. In homeroom, he’s met with a whole group of guys huddled around talking excitedly about something, all wearing matching jerseys. Taking his seat, he leans against the wall and closes his eyes. He’s so tired but that’s his own fault for staying up last night texting people. He doesn’t bother looking to see if Zayn is there, waiting alone in peace for the bell to ring.

In English, a new guy sits next to Louis. He’s wearing a jersey like the ones in homeroom, brown hair sweeping to one side with bright blue eyes. He leans back in his chair, looking at Louis up and down with a hand placed on his lips suggestively. Louis almost laughs, but this guy is attractive so he smiles instead.

Sitting quietly in his seat, the boy turns to him, “I’m just going to come right out and say this. You’re hot and I heard you gave a hand job to Zayn yesterday.”

Louis raises both eyebrows, parting his lips a little and breathing out to make a ‘pff’ sound, “Guess word travels fast around here,”

“It’s true? So does that mean I have a possibility of getting one?” the brunette is now invading Louis’ personal space, their noses almost brushing against each other.

Instead of thinking about it, Louis bites his lip slightly, “It depends – but quick question. Why are you wearing that jersey?”

“I’m on the football team, we won yesterday. Why?”

“Just wondering.”

The boy winks, straightening in his seat as the teacher calls their attention. Louis sneaks glances at the guy the whole time, trying to see if he could conjure up a name.

At lunch, Louis and the boy sneak into the janitor’s closet. Ben, he learned his name, doesn’t think twice before slamming Louis’ tiny body against the door as soon as it shuts. The supplies on the shelves shake, but both boys pay no mind to it. Louis is quick to drop to his knees, unzipping the boy’s jeans with his teeth, pulling both pants and boxers down in one swift motion. He cups Ben’s balls, mouth attaching to the head of Ben's cock.

Ben moans, bringing his hands to pull roughly at Louis’ hair. Bobbing his head to comply, the heat of Louis’ mouth has Ben pushing his head of his dick into hie mouth forcibly and Louis gags. He takes it though, struggling to pull away for oxygen. He’s granted air, quickly being forced back on. It’s not like this is his first time he had to deep throat, but if this guy doesn’t want him to speak for the rest of the day he has to take it easy.  

Soon Ben spills into his mouth, Louis swallowing all of the boy’s seed. Pulling off, Louis wipes his mouth with the back of his hand, standing to be eye level with him.

“Well that was fun,” he flips hair out of his eyes, “but I’m hungry for actual food and not just your cum,” with a peck on the cheek, Louis exits the closet. Ben doesn’t have time to ask for Louis’ number like he planned, left alone standing half naked in the janitor’s closet.

His hair must be all over the place, face red from the blowjob he just gave, but he doesn’t care. Louis just smoothes down his shirt and starts to walk to the cafeteria.

Upon entering busy lunchroom, Louis’ eyes immediately land on a boy who’s sitting at one of the back tables. He’s mindlessly tapping away on his phone, not bothering to look up at anyone. He seems innocent somehow – cute, definitely cute. Grinning widely, Louis doesn’t ask and sits in the empty seat across from him. The guy tears his attention away from the phone and narrows his eyes. 

“Hi! I’m Louis. What’s your name?”

Raising an eyebrow he replies, “I’m Liam.”

Louis twiddles his fingers, actually nervous to speak.

Liam can’t help himself when he thinks this guy sounds like a girl, like one of those overly hyper spirit chicks. “Why are you sitting here and not with those guys?” Louis suddenly picks his head up from his fingers, making eye contact then pointing to a table of idiotic boys who are throwing around food. “You look like you belong with them,”

“That’s the football team,” Liam scowls to their table, “They had the first game of the season yesterday and they won. It’s tradition to wear uniforms to school if you win, but they think it gives you the privilege to act like you bloody own this school. It’s not that big of a deal anyway, it’s only one game.” Louis tilted his head to the side with Liam’s words. He seems actually  _angry_   with the players.

There’s a pause, “I’m a cheerleader you know,” shrugging casually, Louis folds his hands in the back of his head, “have my first varsity practice today and I cheer for  _that_  team.”

Liam looks at the boy, “ _You’re_ the cheerleader everyone’s talking about?” It all makes sense, Liam thinks,  _he’s_  the one Zayn was bragging about with Niall earlier.

“I guess I am. Is that a problem?” Louis challenges back.

“No! Not at all – I’m just surprised. Usually boys don’t go for cheering, and especially they don’t get on varsity. What makes you so good that Tiffany  _demanded_ you be added?”

“My question is how do you know all of this?” Louis smirks, leaning closer to Liam without the other boy realizing it.

He just shrugs, “Word spreads fast around here.”

“Yeah I figured that out… Why I was added you ask?” he pursed his lips, “I’m very  _flexible_.” He adds extra emphasis to the last word.

Liam blushes at that.  

So this Louis guy is definitely gay or bisexual, a lot at this school are, but not Liam. He has no reason – no boy has ever had interest in him. Ever since last year, everyone just doesn’t talk to him anymore. After what happened all his friends abandoned him, leaving him to go through senior year alone.

“So Liam,” Louis leans in so both arms rest on the table surface, “what can you tell me about Cheshire? Any gossip I should be informed of?”

Liam goes a shade of red at the question, ducking his head from the boy’s gaze, “I don’t know if you would be offended or not.” Louis wonders what he is talking about, giving him a look to continue, “Well, everyone thinks you’re … uhm… easy? They were referring to you as ‘another Tiffany’ and that’s not really a good thing because Tiffany has slept with mostly all the football, baseball  _and_  basketball team.”

Louis gives him a surprised look, “Tiffany sounded so sweet when I talked to her. Hm, another thing to add to the list I would never expect from people.”

“You aren’t mad?” Liam asks disbelieved, for someone who just basically got called a slut he’s taking it pretty good.

Expecting things like this, Louis just smiles, “Yeah, well I’m used to it. And it’s not like they’re lying, if you’re hot then I have no problem with fucking you. It’s just who I am I guess,”

Liam gives him a small and uncomfortable nod, typing away on his phone again. He knows he’s being awkward not talking, but he can’t just change his personality. He was never good at making friends, and he lost the only ones he had left.

Louis notes his hesitation, he’s shy – and he’s determined to change that. Right now though, he’s just going to wait for the bell to ring so he can go to his next class.

Louis notices out of the corner of his eye Ben walk through the cafeteria doors, plopping down at the table filled with football players. After whispering something, all their heads turn to Louis and he winks when they start to wolf whistle. Liam shakes his head at the exchange.

—

“Ben huh?” Louis spins around at the end of the day, smirking at Zayn who in fact is wearing a jersey like a lot of other guys.

“I guess you heard,” That’s all he replies, continuing to pack his bag with things he will need for homework and such. He also has to rush over to the locker room and get changed. He’ll never admit it but deep down he’s thrilled to start cheering, he’s always loved dance routines so this should come easily to him. Maybe he’ll be a flyer, he’s always wanted to be one.

Louis cuts off Zayn from whatever he was saying, “Listen I’d love to stay and chat but I got to go. I heard from Tiff that at practice we are picking who gets who? I’m confused on what that means,”

“Yeah! Actually that’s what I was just saying. All the varsity football players get varsity cheerleaders assigned to them. Basically when you pick your player, all season you cheer for them - you’ll hear more at practice probably,” Zayn pulls the boy in by the hips, brushing his lips against his ear, “so I was asking if you would want to be mine?”

Louis smiles, “I’d  _love_ to be your cheerleader. Now I really I have to go, unlike you I have to change.” pecking Zayn on the cheek, he jogs off to the locker room. There are other guys changing too – none of them he recognizes. But they  _are_  cute. And fit.

He slips on his yoga pants and an old t-shirt. Usually guys don’t go for these types of pants but he thinks they are very comfy. When he practices he needs comfortable clothing so these will do. He locks his other things in his gym locker, grabbing his phone and a water bottle before heading out of the locker room. He hears whistles from behind him but he ignores it. One hand typing on his phone, the other holds the water. Opening the back doors, he spots a group of girls gathering on the track. He makes his way over, noticing he’s walking right by a team of boys gathered.

—

Stretching his arm over his head, Harry Styles commands his teammates to form a circle. They won the game yesterday, but in the first half he was disgusted by his team’s performance. They barely got the ball, winning only 4-0. That’s not good enough. Easily they should have scored ten points. The goalkeeper of the opposing team sucked.

“ _To the right_!” he yells, spreading his legs and reaching down to stretch his arm to touch his right foot. He’s facing his friends – Zayn and Niall – as the other players talk.

“Oi! Zayn look who’s walking over here,” Niall stops stretching and points to the direction of the parking lot. “It’s your  _lover boy_.”

Harry watches Zayn stop as well, looking to the lot. He smirks, waving to someone. Harry follows to where his friends are looking - mouth going dry at the sight. Waving back to Zayn is a boy – a  _very_  attractive boy. He’s typing something on his phone, heading towards the dark haired football player. Once he’s right in front of him, Zayn puts an arm around his shoulder, “You should wear those pants more often,” Harry hears Zayn whisper.

The boy’s laugh has Harry’s breath hitching; it’s so beautiful and loud. His eyes are sparkling, and he takes notice they are as blue as the ocean. “I’d rather save them so you are forced to watch me shake my arse off in cheer,” the boy looks around the circle, “Hi Niall!” he waves to the blonde, earning a ‘sup babe’ in return. He looks again, and when he makes eye contact with Ben, he winks.

“I didn’t get your number at lunch,” Ben calls over to him, continuing to stretch.

“You don’t need it!”

Harry decides to interrupt, “Okay guys back to stretches. We have to practice remember?” he sees the smaller boy pout adorably, turning to Zayn.

“I’ll text you,” Zayn lets go of the boy, watching him strut off in the direction of the track where the cheerleaders are. All of them can’t help but stare as the boy leaves, complimenting Zayn on how he scored a nice piece of arse.

Harry raises an eyebrow, “Who is that?  _Down in the middle_!” he drops his body to the middle of his legs, touching the ground.

His friend smirks, “That’s Louis. He just moved here yesterday. I was about to fuck him in the locker room when  _you_  interrupted. But seriously man I didn’t even have to try, he literally threw himself at me. You remember homeroom Niall,” the blonde nods, “he’s so easy. He blew Ben at lunch too,”

Harry frowns at Zayn’s words, looking over to where Louis is giving Tiffany a hug, “He doesn’t look like a whore,”

“Trust me he is,” Zayn lifts his hands up, “but I’m not complaining in the slightest. It’s about time we got a guy willing to fuck anything with a pulse, girls are getting annoying.”

“So he’s a cheerleader?”

“Yep, I even think he’s better than captain. You should see him when he does those stunt things, he’s smoking hot.”

Harry nods, smirking to himself. So he knows that Louis will fuck anyone easily and isn’t dating anyone. That’s really all he needs to know about the guy. He tells the boys to continue warming up, pulling out his phone and dialing a number, “Tell your girls not to pick me,” he looks over to the cheerleaders, “and have that new guy pick last…”

—

“Louis!” Tiffany exclaims, coming over to embrace the boy who just walked over to her, “I can’t tell you how happy I am that you changed your mind! Captain should be here in a few minutes, but for right now let me introduce you to the rest of varsity!” She turns to the group of girls, all of them extremely skinny and strong looking. There’s one with bright red hair he actually thinks is quite attractive, but only reason he would do girls these days is if everyone boy on the planet died. “Okay so that’s Shannon, Lily, Courtney…” she points to each girl and states a name, “we’ve been practicing since the first week of August, and we have all the dances learned already. But a week ago Beth transferred to our rival school, and she was one of our best girls. She was a main flyer and knew all of the stunts by heart. I really thought that we were doomed because no one else knows how to fly except for Lily and me. Beth’s stunt group was going to be cut from stunting but then you came along! You  _are_  a flyer right?”

Louis scrunches his nose, “Well I’ve never flown before but I’ll do it if you need me too. It sounds fun,” he looks over the girls, names and faces already embedded in his memory. He’s always been good at memorization, it’s one of his hidden talents.

“So you’re the guy Tiffany  _begged_  for me to put on the squad,” Louis hears a voice from behind him. Everyone goes silent and he turns around to face a girl with long brown hair and impossibly long legs. She wears a band around her bicep that reads ‘captain’. Her hair is pulled up in a high ponytail, sunglasses covering her eyes.

“I suppose I am,” he answers, “I’m Louis, but I think you already know that. What’s your name  _captain_?” he pokes the band to add emphasis.

She gives him an annoyed look, lifting her glasses to perch on her head, “Eleanor. Eleanor Calder. And let me tell you a little about myself Louis,” she looks at the group, “I lead these girls to nationals last year and we lost at the final round. I do  _not_  plan on repeating that this year. I’ve been training them since the beginning of August, and they have been here a whole day sometimes. Tiffany said you would be able to learn the half time dance by the game this Friday, and I hope she’s right. Otherwise, I will be happy to kiss your sorry arse off my field. I don’t take laziness or none dedicated cheerleaders, and right now I’m not so sure I can see you making it a week. Practices are everyday, three to six. If you don’t show up without an excuse you’re cut. Miss a game you’re cut. Show up unprepared to the games you’re cut. Make us look like idiots you’re cut. Same rules apply to you and the whole team. I strive for perfection and if you can’t give me what I want – well you know what will happen. So  _Lou-ie_ ,” she steps closer, eyes locking with the boy, “Are you  _sure_  you can handle this?”

Louis looks at Tiffany, the girl only giving him an apologetic look. Everyone on this team knows Eleanor always acts like this. That’s one of the reasons they are the second best cheering team in Britain. She’s determined to make all of them perfect, and that’s the reason she didn’t move anyone up in JV. All those girls aren’t half as dedicated as they are with the actual sport then they are about whoring around in the uniform.

“You’re an  _evil_  little witch.”

Eleanor laughs airily, one hand coming to rest on his shoulder, “It’s my responsibility as captain to enforce the rules. You can walk away right now or deal with me – your choice.”

Louis shrugs, “I’ve dealt with worst.”

Looking in the direction of the football players, she gives a hand signal to have them come over, “Then let’s get you introduced to the football players! Just so you’re filled in, at Cheshire each guy is paired with one girl. That girl throughout the season only cheers for that guy. She decorates his locker, bake or gives them something like candy, tepees his house – just make him feel awesome to be a football player. And if you're someone like Tiffany,” she points to the blonde, “you’re going to find more than one way to pleasure him. But that’s because you usually date your player, but not always.”

With her last word, all the guys from the circle arrive to the track. Eleanor stands in front of everyone with a boy joining her. Louis thinks that must be the other captain, and when he looks his way, a dimpled smirk appears on his face.

With a whispered conversation, Eleanor claps her hands together, “Okay! So you all know how this works. Well, maybe not all of you so this is what’s going to happen. A cheerleader will pick a guy until all of you are paired up. But obviously one of you will get Louis, he’s a new cheerleader, but by the look on your faces I can tell more people want Louis more than a girl,” Zayn and Ben smirk, “So I’ll go first! I pick Antonio.”

Tiffany is next, “Hmm, I got Zayn!”

“What?” Zayn whines, “No! I wanted Louis!” Eleanor just shakes her head, saying he doesn’t have a say on who picks him. He crosses his arms like a little kid, Louis pouts but doesn't speak up.

Lily’s turn, “Ben!”

“No fair!” he complains, Louis's now upset he doesn’t really have anyone he knows to pick. He  _could_  pick Niall-

“Niall!” oh come on!

The boy cheerleader looks at the faces, all of the ones he wanted slowly being picked. Soon all the girls on the team are standing next to their player, making conversation and getting to know each other.  Ben and Zayn are giving him sad glances, but trying to enjoy the cheerleader they got.

Louis scrunches his nose, “Who do I get?”

He feels a hand on his hips, lips coming to brush the shell of his ear. He shivers at the touch, turning his head slightly to get a glimpse of curly hair. The voice is deep, something about it sounding familiar to Louis, “Me.” That voice, it’s the one from the locker room – the same one who called him a slut.

Releasing himself from the touch, he crosses his arms and looks at the boy, “You’re that douche bag that interrupted me and Zayn yesterday,”

He shrugs, mimicking Louis’ pose but adding more hip, “The name’s Harry. Harry Styles.  _Captain_  of the football team and most popular boy in school.”

“Who cares?” Louis huffs, not happy he got this guy at all. He’s so stuck up and thinks he’s the coolest thing that walks on this planet –  _news flash you aren’t_.

“You should because we are going to be spending  _a lot_  of time together.”

 

 

 


	3. chapter ii

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You get an insight of Louis' home life and he goes through initiation.

Louis fumbles with his keys, struggling because one hand holds his backpack and the other holds clothes, but he finally manages to slide the key in the slot and it opens with a click. He’s greeted with silence, only light coming from the kitchen. “I’m home!” he calls out, dropping his bag on the small couch with little care. He can tell by now he’s alone – the twins would have ran to hug him hello if he wasn’t. He remembers Jay saying something about taking them to get school supplies earlier, so Louis grabs a water and heads upstairs. It’s still light outside, making it just bright enough to maneuver through his bedroom. It’s messy as usual – clothes litter the floor with assorted things such as random books, a pizza box, and toys his sisters didn’t take yesterday after playing dolls. He sighs, thinking he should put an effort into cleaning, but laughs knowing he’s too lazy.

He takes a swing from the bottle, refreshing water traveling down his dry throat. Cheering practice was, he’s not going to lie, challenging. Eleanor didn’t wait to shoo off the football players and jump right into teaching him how to stunt. It took a few tries, including him falling to the unforgiving hard ground once or twice, but he eventually was able to hold his balance while his bases held his feet. If it wasn’t for the back spot, he was sure he would have been dead – or very close to it. But Courtney was surprisingly strong and caught him with little effort. He would have never guessed a girl that size could catch him, but she proved him wrong. By Friday he should be able to do a full extension for the dance.

Louis plops down on the queen-sized bed, bringing his phone out to check for messages. There were ten he should reply to, though, he’s not in the mood to talk to anyone. He has a lot of old friends that he has been meaning to catch up with, seeing now how they are so far away, he can’t just ask to meet up for something to eat anymore. He shakes his head at the thought; _no you are on a diet Louis stay focused_. He’s a cheerleader now; he needs to stay fit for the sake of the squad. _I mean did you_ see _how skinny Eleanor is_ , he questions himself, _if you gain any more weight they won’t be able to hold you up_. He growls when he thinks about how thin mostly _all_ the team is. His little tummy just won’t go away, no matter how much he tries.

He doesn’t know how long he lies on his bed staring up at the ceiling, but before he knows it, Louis hears the front door opening. Little giggles of laughter fill the air and he sighs happily. Quickly changing his yoga pants to sweats, he jogs down the stairs with an, “Are those my little angels?” He crouches down so he could be eye level with his sisters.

The twins drop the one grocery bag they were both holding, squeal, and sprint over to Louis’ outstretched arms. Daisy buries her face in Louis’ neck while Phoebe swishes her head against his ear. He pulls back and plants two sloppy kisses on both of their cheeks, “How are my lovelies today? Did you have fun shopping with mummy?”

Daisy nods frantically, her blonde pink tails bouncing up and down with her head movement, “Mummy let us get twkies!” He laughs at her attempt to pronounce ‘twinkies’ but acts just as enthusiastic as her. Phoebe agrees with his sister, “and! And we got cool notebuks!” Both girls race to the bags being brought in by Jay, ruffling through the plastic and pulling out matching purple and blue cheetah notebooks. They smile toothily - with Daisy missing one of front her teeth - which makes Louis’ heart swell with adoration.

Jay comes in at that moment, carrying the last bag from the car and placing it on the ground. She closes the door and smiles at her son, “Hello hun, have a good day at school? The kids treating you nice?”

Louis stands to kiss her cheek, “Yeah it’s great. Already made some friends, and oh! I got news!” He feels two sets of hands tugging on his shirt, and with that he swoops down and scoops the twins up in his arms. With one twin resting on each hip, they nuzzle their heads in the crook of his neck while he continues to talk to Jay. “I joined the cheerleading squad!”

Jay stills, scrunching her nose with confusion, “Isn’t cheerleading a girl sport?” She picks up the plastic bags, heading towards the kitchen. Louis follows behind her, not entering but standing at the doorway as she begins to unpack everything. “Not that I’m calling you a girl or anything!” she swiftly adds, “I just didn’t expect this from you is all.”

“Well,” he shifts so he’s more comfortable with two bodies against him, “With gymnastics and all my training, they practically begged me to join. I’m not joking Tiffany was willing to get down on her knees,” He catches Daisy’s gaze, “so why not? Isn’t that right Daisy? Your brother made the right decision?” she giggles when Louis uses one finger to tickle her stomach. In-between laughing she manages to reply with a loud ‘yes!’ “See? Daisy thinks it’s a good idea,” he smirks as the toddler playful hits him on the shoulder for ‘revenge’.

Jay shakes her head amused, “I’m not saying it’s a bad idea! It’s just – Daisy, Phob can you go bring your new school stuff up to your room while Louis and I talk?”

Pouting, the twins’ hands tighten on their brother, not wanting to let go. Louis convinces them either way, saying ‘it will only be a minute’ before kissing them on the foreheads and placing them on the ground. As soon as their little feet hit the tile, they scamper off to the living room. Once alone, Louis steps closer to Jay. “What is it?”

 With the twins gone, she raises an eyebrow and places a hand on her hip, pointing an accusing finger at him, “Don’t you think I don’t know what happens with cheerleaders Lou,” Louis feels his lips quirk with a smile but gives her his best confused face, “I know all about how those overly preppy girls in tight skirts that walk around school fucking any guy they see. You already do that-“ he was about to protest when she shushes him, “-and I want to tell you in advance that the cheerleader title does not mean you have the right to pounce on any guy you think is hot. You have to be mindful on who he is, and make sure he’s not just using you just to say ‘oh I fucked a cheerleader I’m so cool’.”

He can’t help the smirk that appears on his lips. Okay yes Jay knows about Louis’ sex life. Ever since day one the two have shared everything – _everything_. She knows about every single guy Louis has fucked or had any relation with – the ones that he can recall at least. Half of them he was too drunk to remember a name so Jay doesn’t know as much as he does. “Mum, you know I’m careful-“

“I’m not saying you aren’t it’s just you never know who the person is. I’m just warning you Boo, I don’t want you to end up with you coming home crying over how people are calling you a whore again.”

He nods, drumming his fingers along the countertop. Louis knows she’s referring to his second high school – Bradford. He shivers just thinking about it. The kids were so cruel to him; they would call him stupid homophobic names and toss him around like a rag doll. He stayed strong, not letting their words break him, until one of the jocks lied to him saying he liked him. One day after school, Louis was asked to wait outside the school grounds at a park. But instead of Jack, his friends cornered him in a dark alley. Louis went home with a black eye, begging Jay to switch schools. You’d think he would be extra careful after a school like that – but that just encouraged him to stay himself and not let others get to you. It strengthened his confidence, after that everything else just fell into place. “Speaking of that…“

“Okay spill,” Jay doesn’t even bother acting surprised, turning her body to fully face her son. “Who’s the guy? Is he cute?”

Louis smiles dreamingly, “His name's Zayn. He’s a footie player and you should see him mum he’s so fucking attractive. Yesterday in the locker room-“

“On second thought I don’t want to hear the details-“

“Then there was Ben today in the janitor’s closet-“

She places her hands to her ears, “blah blah blah I’m not listening blah blah blah!” Usually she would want to know but the poor woman hasn’t eaten yet and she doesn’t want to ruin her appetite. Not that she’s disgusted, she loves her son so much and doesn’t care if he sleeps around – as long as he knows what he’s doing then she’s fine with it. She trusts Louis enough to make his own decisions by now – he’ll be turning 18 in December; she can’t control his life anymore!

Louis laughs, stopping his explanation. After Jay knows he won’t continue, she picks back up on what she was trying to say, “I know you're going to want to date, but I advise you to be careful! After what happened with-“

“Can we not talk about it?” he cuts her off, crossing his arms defensively over his chest and tone going cold, “It’s bad enough I haven’t heard from him in three months – I don’t want to hear about him if I don’t want to.”

Rolling her eyes, she places the milk and eggs in the refrigerator, “I don’t want you to get attached to anyone too seriously and have to leave. I don’t know what I would do if I had to take you away from someone you loved so much again.” She closes the fridge door, voice breaking at the last word. Louis should be the one almost crying – not her. But he knows it’s hard for Jay to have to pack everything and leave to chase jobs. That’s how she lost Mark.

Louis walks up and wraps his arms around her; “Mark was a dickhead and didn’t deserve you from the start. Don’t worry about him, he’s gone, we don’t need him.”

Jay manages not to sob, only silent tears rolling down her cheeks as she hugs her son, “I just wish Lottie and Fizzy were here – it’s not the same without them.”

He pulls back and uses his sleeve to wipe away her tears, “I miss them too. But they are better off staying with grandma in Doncaster.”

They just stand in comforting silence for a few minutes until Louis can hear little feet trotting down the stairs. The twins pop in view, having unpacked everything and waited until Jay and Louis were done talking. “Who’s hungry?” Jay’s attitude brightens wildly, “Let’s get those tummy’s full!”

—

Wednesday morning, Louis wakes up with two feelings of pressure on his sides. After blinking his eyes into focus, he looks down to see the twins curled into him, arms tucked in the most adorable way. The alarm clock didn’t disrupt their slumber, and Louis surely doesn't want to. But he does have to get to school, so after ten more minutes of watching; Louis shakes the two girls awake. They have their first day of school today – Jay probably wants the girls to wake up anyway.

Turns out he was right. Managing to haul the girls out of bed, he brings them downstairs to be greeted by the delicious smell of bacon and eggs. Louis ate his food rather quickly, remembering Eleanor saying the varsity cheerleaders needed to get to school twenty minutes earlier today. He kisses the three girls goodbye, dressed (of course) to impress, and sets off in his car.

Eleanor and Tiffany are outside the main gates of the school when he pulls up. He's confused on why he's the only one, but brushes it off and starts walking up to the two. They greet him happily, each pulling the boy into a hug, saying to follow. With a key to the school, granted to the captains of each team, Eleanor leads the boy to the home economic room. Flicking the lights on, she makes her way over to the table lined up with cookies.

“Okay Louis!” she walks over to the baked goods, Tiffany fumbling around in a drawer, “All cheerleaders must go through initiation! Don’t worry, it’s not anything like the football team where you have to run around the school naked,” she grimaces at the image forever embedded into her brain, “all you have to do is decorate these cookies and hand them out to the football players!” she motions to Tiffany who held an icing dispenser. Looking at the clock above the door, she continues, “Looks like if you want to pass, you’ll be done in fifteen minutes before this homeroom starts to come in. _Go_!”

Louis springs into action, grabbing the icing tub from Tiffany’s hand and going to the cookies. He ponders for a brief five seconds what he was going to do, then starts squeezing the bag so the icing comes out of the tip – one letter for each. It only takes him ten minutes, and soon all the sugar cookies are decorated. They spell, ‘Go Cheshire Varsity Football Players!’ There were more cookies then he expected, so he smiles proudly over at the captain at his timing.

“That was great Lou!” Tiffany exclaims, coming over to inspect his work, “They look awesome!” Louis nods along with her words, admitting he knew how ‘awesome’ they were.

Eleanor agrees, scanning the letters, “Yeah, they look cool. Now all you have to do is hand them out to the players in each homeroom. The teachers know about this, I told them, so this is your time to get to know the guys! Try and make conversation and all that… but don’t flirt with Antonio! He’s mine,” she winks over her shoulder, exiting the room with Tiffany trailing behind her. “Oh!” she pokes her head back into the room, “Tomorrow night the girls are getting together at my house and we are going to tepee the guys’ houses. I’ll text you my address – be there at nine. I’ll give you more details at practice.”

Louis waves them off, grabbing a random plate and starts to pile the cookies on. The bell rings when he was completed, signaling him to start his round to deliver the sweets. He figures he might as well go to his homeroom first, seeing Zayn and a bunch of other players share it.

Upon entering, everyone’s head pops up to stare at him with hungry eyes. “Yes! Cookies!” Zayn jogs over to Louis first, not bothering to ask before stealing a cookie. Niall, and soon all the players he recognized from yesterday were helping themselves. He introduces himself, making sure to get all their names. Conversation was easy; everyone huddled in the front of the room laughing. The students that are still seated glare at Louis with jealousy. All the football players are swooning over him, just because of a simple snack. Well, he _is_ a cheerleader, so everyone knows that makes you automatically popular.

“Sorry lads but I have to get the rest of these- no!” he smacks Niall’s hand away from grabbing another, “I need to save some for the others!” He laughs when the boys pout, picking up the plate and exiting. He strolls through the homerooms, going into four before finally recognizing a big mop of curls in the back row. It looks like the rest of the team all sit around the boy, focusing all their attention on the captain. They all looked at that Harry guy like he's a God, and Louis rolls his eyes.

Walking up to the group, he doesn't wait for an invitation as he sits on Harry’s desk. When all their attention flicker to the cheerleader, their eyes widen with happiness before fighting to get one of the last cookies on the plate.

Harry looks up at the boy through long eyelashes, keeping silent as Louis starts talking to his players. The smaller boy’s bubbly personality has all the boys actually wanting to keep conversation, and Harry smiles. Louis would be a perfect cheerleader – he needs someone who is easily loved by everyone and is hot – and let’s face it Louis fits those qualities perfectly.

“See something you like?” Louis smirks down at him, biting into the last cookie that wasn’t taken. He was supposed to give it to the captain, it being the biggest one, but he was hungry. Oh well.

Shrugging casually, Harry sits up in his seat. He's tall enough that his face was now eye level with Louis. He leans in so their faces are very close - too close for Louis’ liking. He wants to pull back, but those green eyes staring into his momentarily mesmerize him. He takes notice Harry has little specks of gold in those big and beautiful irises. He flickers his own eyes down more to stare at Harry's lips – plum and red – _delicious_ looking.

Louis holds his breath when he sees Harry move his head _that_ much closer, the warmth of his breath hitting his cheeks softly. He can’t move, and everyone in the room has faded into nothingness with him and the captain being the only ones left. Harry leans the rest of the way-

The cookie Louis was holding to his lips is bitten into, Harry’s teeth sinking into the goodness and taking more than half before pulling back to chew. Louis gapes at the boy, eyes looking back and forth between the food and him, “Hey! You stole my cookie!” he swats at the chuckling boy’s arm. He huffs, hopping off the desk and taking the plate.

“Whoa! Wait, don’t leave!” Harry’s hand lightly pulls Louis back, laughter still escaping his lips, “I _did_ see something I liked and it was the cookie, what, you thought otherwise?” he raised an eyebrow, smirk never leaving his face.

Louis just flips his hair. He wasn’t going to kiss Harry anyway - he would have pulled back, or at least that’s what he keeps telling himself. Why didn’t he though? He saw Harry leaning in, what made him freeze on the spot? “Please,” he crosses his arms, “You aren’t that attractive so get over yourself.” The bell rings, saving Louis from any more conversation with Harry. He picks up the plate, strutting out of the homeroom to his first class.


	4. chapter iii

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> First home game.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Watch this video to know what dance the cheerleaders will be doing: http://youtu.be/ZeeQ3TrJBjc

It’s game day.

 

All the football players are warming up for the first home game of the season. Harry wants tonight’s scores to be big enough to make newspaper headlines. Zayn is prepping himself in goal, Niall’s doing pre-game push-ups, while the captain makes sure the other starters are stretched and ready to go. The game isn’t for another hour, but the stands are already being filled. Everyone knows in Cheshire, the first home football game is the most popular event to attend, the other being the championships and people who don’t even have a child on the team come to support. The money from merchandise and the snack stand help the football and cheerleading teams afford things like uniforms and supplies needed for the season. If you look out to the houses across the road from the high school, two or three are covered in toilet paper. All thanks to the cheerleaders. It’s a tradition to tepee the houses of the players and nobody questions it.

“Hey Harry?” the captain plucks out his headphones, bringing his eyes up from the football he was juggling to look at Niall. “I don’t know how to tell you this but… Antonio broke his wrist and is at the hospital.”

Harry groans, kicking the ball suddenly across the field in frustration. He hits Jacob in the arm but shouts an apology before turning back to the blonde, “Are you kidding me? He knew the game was tonight! What happened?”

“He was helping his mum move some furniture and the chair landed on his wrist. I told him to be careful, he didn’t listen,” out of the corner of his eye, Niall saw a ball flying towards the two. Turning his body towards the object, his chest traps it then swiftly hits it back to its owner, “Who are we putting in to replace ‘im?”

Running a hand over his face, Harry scans his eyes over the team. He shouldn’t have to deal with finding a new player. He specifically told his whole team to be very careful before the game but no, Antonio being the wise-ass he is had to not listen to him. “I’m leaving it up to you, Niall, to pick a new forward,” he points his finger, “Don’t screw it up.” With a nod of approval, Harry made his way over to the benches. He hasn’t seen the cheerleaders yet – they usually make a big entrance to get the fans in the stands pumped. Harry thought it was rather ridiculous but all the teams support each other in Cheshire. He is more than happy to offer his players and himself if Eleanor needs extras for a dance – he’s just helpful like that.

Looking over the tightly packed bleachers, Harry smiles to himself. The first game is always the best. All of the students go crazy like painting themselves black and gold – Cheshire’s colours. There is a certain section of the bleachers that is saved for such people, making sure they are near the cheerleaders. The band is placed on the other side, so their cheers aren’t disrupting the music.

—

“I don’t think I can do this,” from where the cheerleaders stand behind the bathrooms, Louis is able to have a full view of the craziness occurring. He isn't scared of performing in front of a crowd, no; he's scared because of what he's wearing. He's stuck in the same outfit as all the girls. Spandex shorts and a tight crop top that has the Cheshire high school logo on it and is cut at his breastbone so his whole stomach is showing with bright white cheering sneakers. He's already self-conscious of his tummy, but Eleanor complimented on how toned it was – that gave him the motivation to even step into the uniform. Louis even took the liberty of shaving his legs and underarms so he's not hairy and gross. Instead of a quiff, his feathery brown locks sweep to one side of his face. Tiffany tried to get him to wear a bow but he absolutely refused to embarrass himself even more. “I’m freezing my bloody balls off.”

Tiffany giggles but doesn’t answer the boy, too busy applying bright silver glitter to her eyelids. Every girl is wearing the same make up with her hair tied up in a high ponytail. Louis, again, refused to have the glitter. With this outfit, he needs to make sure everyone knows he is a guy. Snapping the eye shadow lid closed, Tiffany turns her attention to Louis, “Really it’s nothing to be worried over. I remember I was as nervous as you, at my first varsity game and it ended up being a piece of cake. Just show off that smile and you’ll win everyone in the stands’ heart,” she pinches his cheek, “And don’t complain about how cold it is! We're working on ordering the sweats soon but for now we have to deal with these.”

Eleanor appears from the bathroom door, stopping in her path and whistling while eyeing Louis up and down, “I was right. The uniform looks good on you,” she twirls her fingers and the boy spins to give her a 360-degree view, “The girls are gonna eat you up.”

“And I’ll simply tell them I’m not interested,” he shrugs, hugging his arms in a search for warmth, “How are you not cold?”

“You get used to it,” the captain makes sure all the girls are dressed and ready to go on, “Okay ladies come together!” everyone forms a mass huddle around her, matching black and gold uniforms making them all look like twins, “First game of the season! I’m so proud of all your dedication to this team and I couldn’t have asked for better cheerleaders,” she starts off her speech, excitement bubbling through her blood stream, “We all know the dance, we all know who’s watching – don’t be nervous. Our routine is awesome; we need not to worry about disappointing anyone. I just want to add - Louis,” she startles the boy by diverting everyone’s attention towards him, “You managed to learn the whole dance in a matter of three days and I can’t say how much it means to all of us that you joined the team. Without you I don’t know where we would be so thank you.” Tiffany one-arm hugs him and he feels a blush creep up on his cheeks and mumbles a ‘no problem’.

“Okay let’s do this!”

The crowd chants louder by the minute, knowing it’s the cheerleaders’ time to do the introduction cheer. Louis’ mind is racing with thoughts of how he’s going to mess up but he doesn’t have time to back down because Tiffany is pulling his arm forward. The stands are full of screaming students and parents – all dressed in black or gold. On the other side of the field, the opposite bleachers are full of blue and white which are Woodbridge’s colours.

Eleanor signals Mr. D to start playing the music – and Louis’ heart races. Adrenaline courses through his body, making his palms sweaty and he's lightly shaking. The first beats of the familiar song start to play and the whole squad skips on to the field into their positions.

He faintly hears the announcer screaming into the speakers, “Let’s welcome to field our very own Cheshire Cheerleaders! Give them a big round of applause as they set up for the intro dance!” Louis has a front spot, so there's no hiding in the back. Still with his nerves getting the best of him, he plasters a huge smile on his face. The fans don’t seem to notice the boy and he is somewhat relieved. All the cheerleaders lock their hands behind their back and bend their heads down to wait for the lyrics to start.

Five..Six..Seven..Eight!

 

—-

With one last pose, the crowd is clapping and hollering. Louis’ face hurts he’s smiling so much. He didn’t mess up – nobody did. He went up in his extension with one leg then cradled perfectly. He performed the somersaults perfectly. There were no glares shot his way – maybe a few but out of jealousy – the only thing he received were two eyebrows raised in surprise when he was able to fly like any other girl. The thrill of doing the routine in front of so many people made the coldness Louis felt automatically melt away.

“Wasn’t that just amazing!” the announcer had the fans applauding, again, while the cheerleaders made their way to the track off the field. There they had already placed things like pom poms and megaphones in the right spot for each person to have a position. Louis’ self-consciousness has faded in to oblivion, leaving himself feeling his usual confident self. The whistle sounds and Harry steps on to the field with another boy – both captains shake hands before the coin is flipped. From the look of it, Harry won the toss and pointed to a goal. With another nod, the captain is back to his team.

The football players are all dressed in matching uniforms, each the same except the number and last name on the back. Louis has seen the jerseys before, but with the jogger shorts and shoes they look even better.

The cheerleaders are a fair distance away from the benches where the football players are doing last minute preparations for the game. Zayn straps on his goal gloves, Niall ties his shoelaces, and Harry is – well – staring at Louis. The smaller boy can’t help but see the way Harry’s eyes are scanning over the outfit he’s wearing hungrily.

Prying his eyes off Louis’ body, Harry tries to refocus himself on what’s about to happen. The first home game. It’s not that important, but every win counts for the championships. No screw-ups.

With another whistle, Harry huddles into a circle and the team links arms over each other’s shoulders as they do a beginning chant that pumps their motivation. “Let’s do this boys!” he screams, stretching his foot one last time. The ball is dropped for Woodbridge to kick off. Everyone sprints to a mark.

—-

“Go Niall!” Courtney jumps and waves her hands in the air. All the cheerleaders are doing their best to be louder than the crowd behind them, trying to make sure their player can hear their chants. Louis was a little flustered what to do at first, but soon picked it up.

“H-A-R-R-Y! Let’s go Harry!” he claps and shakes his pom poms to add a sparkling effect to his hands. “COME ON KICK THAT BALL!” he laughs with Tiffany. An unspoken challenge is made between the two – the challenge being who can cheer the loudest.

“GO! ZAYN! HE’S OUR MAN IF HE CAN’T DO IT NOBODY CAN!” Tiffany jumps and does an in-air split for emphasis.

 

Louis scowls, “He’s a goalie! He isn’t even doing anything!”

—-

It’s halftime. The score is 6-2. Harry is barely breaking a sweat but he can’t say the same for his teammates. Giving them sometime to replenish their water supply, he strolls over to the cheerleaders. Half time is ten minutes long – meaning the fans are hurrying to get to the snack stand before the second half starts up. He sneaks up to Louis, putting a finger to his lips to signal for Tiffany not to say anything, and jabs his long fingers with both hands in Louis’ exposed sides.

 

Louis yelps with surprise, spinning in place to face Harry. Tiffany is laughing hysterically behind the two, thinking the simply gesture was hilarious. “I hate you!” he hits the chuckling captain in the arm, “you scared the shit out of me!”

 

Harry doesn’t even flinch from the small punch to the bicep, instead wrapping an arm around Louis’ shoulders. “I like that uniform,” he winks down – because Louis is shorter than him – at the boy who sticks his tongue out. The cheerleader’s body is pushed against his side and he can feel every inch of the nearly naked frame. He keeps his cool – he has to. It would be extremely awkward if he randomly got a boner in front of all these people.

 

“Yeah, I saw you drooling before. I have to admit I look pretty hot in these spandex, don’t you agree?” Louis peers over at Tiffany, who is giving the two boys a knowing look. Louis is quick to shake his head implying there is nothing going on. But Tiff just smirks before waving them off to go find Zayn.

 

“Of course,” Harry makes sure to get a long look at his arse, “Eleanor was always great at choosing the best uniforms, although I think she could have picked smaller shorts. Or maybe you could go topless.”

 

Louis actually laughs, and the sound has Harry’s stomach swarming with butterflies. He made him laugh. That’s a start, he tells himself.

 

“So after we win this game do I get a celebratory snog?” Harry’s dimples flash with his smirk and it has Louis’ insides churning in an unpleasant way on how cute they are.

 

He can’t resist. Raising a finger, Louis pokes the right dimple, “In your dreams Styles.” Harry scrunches his face adorably with the touch, laughing at how such a simple thing fascinates the cheerleader.

 

“Fine. No kiss. What about a date?”

 

Louis stills, dropping his hand from the boy’s face, “How is a date the better option?” Fact is Louis is slightly – not really, okay maybe a little – freaking out. He always got nervous when he got asked out. He hasn’t really been on any proper dates in his life, preferring hook ups instead. But come on, it’s Harry, it’s not like he’ll ever say yes. With the boy’s perfect curls, beautiful emerald eyes, long toned chest – no, Louis, stop thinking like that.

 

“You wouldn’t have to kiss me, I just want to get to know you.”

 

“Yeah… no. I don’t do dates.”

 

“So you rather prefer whoring around with any guy who is willing to fuck you?”

 

Rolling his eyes, Louis’ lips flatten into a line and he chooses not to let the statement get to him, “You’re just jealous because I’m not letting you get in my pants.”

 

Harry raises two eyebrows, “Oh really? You think I’m jealous?”

 

Louis smiles up at the boy, “Of course you are – you’re one of the only guys I wouldn’t hook up with in the whole school.”

 

The captain places a hand over his heart in mock offense, “That hurts me deeply.” Louis laughs, shoving Harry who returns the gently push. “Why won’t you hook-up with me?” It’s random and not called for but the question as been bouncing through Harry’s head this whole conversation.

 

Louis knows he would be lying if he said he could tell Harry’s was a bad kisser. With those plump pink lips and huge mouth he actually thinks – deep, deep down – he wouldn’t mind experimenting with the boy. “Just drop it, yeah?” he replies instead of a cheeky comment.

 

“But you fucked Zayn and Ben-“

 

“I didn’t though-“

 

“Still!” Harry keeps his voice level, “Even if it was just a handjob or whatever you did – I don’t understand why you won’t do the same with me.”

 

“Oi look at me,” Louis drops his voice to something that sounds a little bit deeper than Harry’s, “I’m Harry Styles captain of the football team and most popular guy in school. Do you not remember that’s the first thing you said to me?”

 

“Well usually that sentence has any girl dropping to her knees,” he mumbles, a bit embarrassed on how stupid he was acting Wednesday. He’s used to just charming everyone with his football abilities and good looks but clearly that’s not working with Louis.

 

“I’m not a girl first of all and second I’m not another person that’s going to do whatever you want just because you can kick a ball around and talk to people without getting nervous.”

 

“Louis! Let’s go!” Eleanor is waving her hand frantically to line him up for the half time dance.

“Gotta go! Break your leg!” Louis releases himself from Harry’s hold and runs over to his team.

Before he’s too far away, Harry calls out “Isn’t the saying ‘break a leg’?”

Louis smiles wickedly but doesn’t have time to answer. The cheerleaders are being leaded on the field for their second and last dance of the night. This is Louis’ personal favourite. He gets to shake his arse more than necessary but he really doesn’t mind. Walking up to his front position, this dance starts with them facing the opposing team’s benches. He keeps his head down to wait for the music to start but before he hears a few boys making a comment about him – and it’s obviously Louis because of their description: ‘damn look at that guy’s arse’. It brings him back to the first day of school with Zayn when he sat down in homeroom. Bringing his head up, he winks at the player dressed in blue then the music starts.

—-

The cheerleaders’ dance is over. Louis was thirsty so he dragged Tiffany to the snack stand. The routine went smoothly, no mistakes or imperfections. Louis got flipped in his stunt and landed perfectly – as always. He’s really starting to like this cheering. It’s different – but good different.

While on line, Louis was discussing what Harry was saying before the dance when two opposing football players came up to the two cheerleaders. Louis automatically remembers the one to right as the guy who commented on his arse, so he smiles flirtatiously. Tiffany stops mid-sentence and turns to the boys, “Hey! The line starts back there!”

Louis glares at her playfully, silently telling her to shut-the-fuck-up. Instead he looks at his guy, number 32, and wraps an arm around his bicep. Leaning in so only his guy can hear him, and whispers, “My name’s Louis,”

 

“Josh,” the guy replies. “Do I know you from somewhere?”

“Not that I can recall, no.”

“You sure you didn’t go to Woodbridge at all?”

Louis shook his head, starting to get annoyed, “I think I know what school I went to last year.”

Josh looked around, seeing no one was paying attention, he lowered his voice, “You free tonight after the game?”

“Depends on what you’re planning,” Louis is drawing patterns on Josh’s bicep as they talk to each other, loving the feeling of how muscular he is.

“I got a car and a big back seat,” Louis’ mouth drops open in fake shock. Josh is quick to start apologizing, “oh my god! I’m sorry I didn’t- I mean you aren’t- you don’t look-“

Louis giggles, shushing Josh from continuing his nervous rambling, “I was kidding! Jeez take a joke!” They both start laughing together. While looking over at the field, Louis’ eyes land on Harry who’s giving the two a deadly glare. The look sends shivers up the boy’s spine – but he… likes it. Harry’s obviously jealous and Louis doesn’t know why, but it makes him tingle with excitement.

“You next in line?” Josh points to a lady that looks very tired – because working the snack stand must be real tiring. Louis nods, asking for a water bottle but before he could slide the dollar across the countertop, Josh beats him to it.

“What? No! I’m paying for my own water!” he tries to give his own money but the lady already took it and is calling the next person in line. “I could have paid! It was water that cost a dollar. I’m not poor you know.”

“Might as well start getting used to paying for you. I do plan on seeing you after tonight, of course if it’s okay with you.”

Louis pauses, looking over at Harry who still hasn’t taken his eyes off the two. He smirks, picking his head up and slotting his fingers Josh’s hand, “It’s definitely okay with me.”


	5. chapter iv

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Josh causes problems.

Harry was typing a reply to Niall when he stepped out of the locker room. He’s always the last one, making sure everything is stowed away in a locker so the night janitor doesn’t have too much cleaning to do. Bolting the door shut, he turns to the direction of the street where Zayn’s house lies. The game wasn’t the best it could be. His players were lacking the motivation to put 100% effort into playing – including himself. His mind was too busy clouded with thoughts of Louis. All he hears is  _LouisLouisLouis_ chanting in his ears. Why does that boy have to be so difficult? He’s never had to deal with rejection – he’s Harry Styles for crying out loud. What’s wrong with him that Louis just wants to hate him for no reason?

And why did the boy have to flirt with Josh  _right in front of him_?

It’s like Louis knew Josh has been Harry’s rival since they were toddlers. He just  _knew_  how to touch Josh in the way that made Harry’s skin boil. And the best part is… Josh has a girlfriend that doesn’t even know he’s gay. It’s sickening that she has to deal with that mess of a boy – and Louis shouldn’t have to deal with it either.

Mid-turn, he freezes in place and is pretty sure his mouth falls open at the sight. Against the wall – no,  _pinned_  against the wall is none other than the cheerleader who's been racing through his mind ever since half time. From the distance, Harry can only watch as Louis is snogged the life out of by – oh great _._ “Are you fucking serious right now?” he whispers. Head falling back to look at the night sky, he sighs dramatically. He wants to walk away, he _needs_  to get to the after-game party, but his feet are frozen in his spot. For minutes he’s just watching Louis and Josh kiss – his mind dreaming what it would be like to be in that position.  

—

Outside it’s growing colder by every passing minute. Both boys’ body temperature rises from the passionate kiss but they're still desperate for warmth. “Do you have a car?” Louis whispers in Josh’s mouth when the kiss is stopped for air. He receives a nod and a look of approval. The hand is pulled from his hips, and the two make their way to the parking lot. Josh’s car is right near the snack stand, making it a twenty second walk before they are hopping into the back seat of a black BMW. Louis slides in first, lying down and waiting with his legs apart for Josh to shut the door.

Louis lays on his back, trying to catch his breathe, and the position has his eyes flashing to his past for a moment. This causes his movements to stop momentarily and Josh nudges his shoulder, “You okay?”

“What?” Louis snaps back into the present, “oh y-yeah I’m fine.” He ignores his thoughts and crashes his lips with the other boy. Louis lets Josh kiss down his jaw to suck on his neck, his eyes peeking open to stare at the car ceiling.

_“You’re a slut.”_

_“You’re worthless.”_

_“The only way you could ever get someone is by-“_

“What's wrong with you?”

Cursing himself silently, Louis sighs while Josh removes his lips from his body. “Nothing’s wrong I’m sorry –“

“I didn’t bring you here to watch you fall asleep,” Josh hisses, sitting up from Louis’ body and leaning against the opposite car door.

Louis snorts, “that’s the plan huh? You fuck me then I leave? What happened to all that ‘I do plan on seeing you after tonight’ shit?” he chuckles silently, only half joking because that stung a little.

 

“I only use that for people like you – it doesn’t mean anything.”

 

“Oh, um,” the cheerleader stumbles over his words, that statement making him confused on what Josh means, “That was a bit rude,” Louis mumbles, adjusting his spandex shorts so they don’t ride up on his hips.

 

“Listen babe you’re a great shag for when people are bored but I got a girlfriend, I’m just looking for a night of fun. So shut up and let me fuck you,” he winks and tries to sound seductive, leaning uncomfortably closer to the cheerleader. Louis tries to back away but Josh just keeps growing closer to his face. Josh rolls his eyes when he notices Louis’ actions, “What’s wrong  _now_?”

“You’re kidding me right?” Reaching for the door handle, Louis is offended beyond comparison now – actually he’s more then that.  _What the fuck, you don’t say that to people! That’s so rude!_

With his thoughts occupied, he doesn’t notice the door isn't opening “Unlock the door god dammit!” he keeps his eyes away from Josh’s gaze, the tightness of his face starting to indicate he’s about to cry.

“I didn’t mean to hurt your feelings LouLou,” Josh playfully adds the nickname, not knowing his words affected the boy, “it was just-“

“Don’t call me that!” he suddenly screams, and when Josh was about to say something again, he huffs and finds the unlock button to let himself out. As expected, it was still bloody freezing outside, and now Louis doesn’t have his jacket because he doesn’t want to go back in that car.

Josh quickly gets out the other side to follow him, “What’s your deal?” he demanded, a little annoyed and interested why the sudden mood change. One second they are joking around and about to have sex and now Louis is acting like a crazy ex-girlfriend.

Spinning on his heals, Louis takes his hands off his biceps to point at himself, “How the fuck do you think  _I_  feel that you’re just using me for a gay one night stand when you’re actually _straight_! That’s fucked up! I only got in that damn car because I thought you were at least gay! I’m not just some slut that goes around with anyone who bats an eyelash! So don’t think just because I wear this,” he motions to his uniform, “that means I’m some type of prostitute. Now get the fuck out of here!” he’s literally fuming right now, his cheeks already red from the coldness but his outburst probably made his whole face scarlet.

“Well how am I supposed to know that when you are fucking feeling up my arm and winking at me across the field? It’s like you think you’re normal flirting with another guy on the opposite team!”

Clenching his fist, Louis takes a deep breath to try and calm him so he doesn’t do anything stupid. He doesn’t like fighting, far from it, ever since what happened in Bradford. But guys like this remind him of his past and he doesn’t want to have anything to do with it. Shaking his head, Louis is about to politely ask Josh to leave again but there’s many different footsteps coming from the entrance to the parking lot.

Both boys whip their head around to see Harry, Zayn, and Niall making their way over to where Louis and Josh are standing. They stare at the Woodbridge player like dead meat, almost growling, as they get closer. Louis tenses, afraid what’s going to happen.

Louis straightens up when they draw in closer, “W-what are you guys doing here?” he feels his voice starting to shake,  _oh god don’t start crying now_ , he thinks to himself. He hates when someone sees him cry. It’s a sign of weakness – an indication he can’t handle his emotions so they come out in tears. Louis  _is not_ weak.

Harry comes up to stand in front of him, Niall and Zayn in the back of Josh to make sure he doesn’t go anywhere. Tilting Louis’ head up by his chin, Harry searches the smaller boy’s eyes, “Did he make you cry?”

A bit taken back by the question, he whispers back, “n-no,” but he makes the stupid decision of locking eyes with Josh, and his memory flashes back. He looks exactly like Jesse – brown hair, hazel eyes, muscles, small nose – and Louis cannot for the life of him stop the chocked breath that comes out more like a sob. Harry brings the boy in for a hug, letting Louis cry into his shoulder. Louis grips Harry’s jersey for dear life, letting his cries shake out of him. He’s been holding them too long. Truth is, he hasn’t cried in months. In the worst moments, he still keep his head up high and refused to let his emotions get the best of him. “I-I’m sorry I d-didn’t mean-n to-“

“Shh Louis,” Harry squeezes the boy, pulling back to scan his face. His heart breaks that much more when he sees the state Louis is in – his eyes big and puffy with his bottom lip quivering. Wiping the tears fallen on his cheek, he strokes his thumb soothing on Louis’ jaw, “I’m not mad at you, don’t’ apologize,” the cheerleader goes silent.

“I-It’s nothing,” Louis lets go of Harry - making the captain suddenly feel cold and empty – and removes the hand cupping his jaw, “I’m n-not a baby, I can handle my own situations.” He hastily wipes away any tears, taking a few deep breaths to calm himself down.

“You were just crying because of this prick and you think you can handle yourself?” Louis huffs and looks back at Josh then back to the captain, not answering his question. Harry raises his eyebrows and shrugs “I forgot to inform you. At Cheshire we have some rules… and those rules are meant to be followed. One of them being, if an opposing player makes your cheerleader cry,” Harry turns to glare at Josh, his voice going down to a low threatening whisper, “they go home with something broken.”

Gulping, Josh tries to run back to his car but Zayn snatches his arm to hold him in place. “And as the captain of my team I need to set an example on why anyone shouldn’t mess with us – especially  _my_  cheerleader,” he growls, clearing enjoying the way the Woodbridge player is cringing with fear.

 Louis goes wide-eyed, grabbing at Harry’s bicep when he tries to step forward, “Harry,” the captain gives him a sideways look, “I don’t want you hurting him,”

“He used you,” he spits back, obviously disgusted with the opposite player. “I know this prick. He’s dating one of the stupidest girls in Woodbridge – but not after I tell her about this,” Josh glares at the boy, not expecting him to bring Chelsea into this.

Shaking off Zayn’s hand, he steps into Harry’s personal bubble, “You wouldn’t,” Josh challenges, their faces an inch away from each other. “And besides this whore didn’t do anything with me.”

Harry’s eyes go soft, looking over to where Louis sniffles at the unnecessary comment. His eyes send the boy a questioning look saying  _‘really?’_  and Louis nods, casting his eyes to the ground.

Looking back to Josh, Harry’s face breaks in a grin because they didn’t fuck and that makes him ten times happier. “It’s funny, you are calling my Louis a whore but _you_  are the one fucking around with a different guy every football game when your girlfriend has her back turned,”

There's beat of silence.

“Fuck you!” Josh suddenly pounces on Harry, tackling him to the cold pavement of the parking lot. Zayn and Niall spring back, leaving Louis to gape in disbelief at the two boys wrestling. “Stop!” he tries to pull them apart, only to have Niall come up behind him to pull the boy back by his waist. “Let me go!” the blonde boy doesn’t loosen his grip, saying how he shouldn’t be involved – that he could get hurt. “Guys!” he watches Harry punch Josh straight in the jaw, making him cringe, “stop fighting!” Josh flips the two over, gaining control of the pin but Harry is quick to reverse the hold.

“Zayn!” Louis sends pleading eyes to the darker boy who just stands next to him and Niall, “do something!” Zayn gives him a what-the-fuck-am-i-suppose-to-do look, biting his nails nervously. Fighting isn’t allowed on school property and if someone saw this, Harry could be kicked off the team.

His head clicking with an idea, Louis releases himself from Niall’s grip, going over to Zayn and grabbing his jersey to pull him in for a kiss. Zayn let’s out a surprised noise, hesitantly bringing his hands to Louis’ hips before letting the smaller boy’s tongue slip into his mouth.

Just like he planned, the sounds of wrestling stop after only moments of the two boys together. Louis pulls his body off of the boy completely, spinning to see Harry and Josh glaring at Zayn. “Now that I have your attention – Josh I strongly suggest you leave  _right now_  and never come back because I’ll fucking break all your stupid windows so you won’t be able to drive that trash you call a car home!” every one of the boys standing around look at the boy with astonishment, not used to Louis losing his cool like this. Josh took the hint, scrambling up from the ground and sprinting to his beloved car. With one last cold scowl, Louis watches him speed out of the parking lot.

With Josh gone, Louis turns his attention back to Harry, “you are so stupid! You think that by picking a fight with some guy will impress me? That’s the oldest trick in the book and it doesn’t fucking work!”

Harry scoffs, grabbing Niall’s outstretched hand to help him off the ground, “Not everything I do is because I want to get with you Louis! You were crying for fucks sake and you’re calling me stupid for sticking up for you!”

“I don’t need your help!” Louis flips his fringe, trying to fix it from the mess it’s probably in, “I handled that all by myself and I never asked for you to come over here!”

 “You’re so _annoying_  you know that? Here I am trying to help you and instead just saying thank you, you yell at me! I get it! You hate my guts! It doesn’t mean you can’t be grateful I came when I did! Josh probably would have forced himself on you! You wouldn’t have had a choice to fuck him then! But fine, how about this - I’ll leave you alone from now on! That sound okay to you, princess?”

Louis clenches his jaw, “Sounds  _perfect_ ,” ignoring the sarcastic nickname; he turns on his heel and starts stomping to his car with the weird feeling of guilt bubbling in his stomach. Why should he feel guilty though? Harry didn’t have any place sticking his nose in  _his_  business! If he fucked Josh then that’s  _his_ problem to deal with – he hates it when someone tries to treat him like a child. Not Jay, not his grandparents – nobody is aloud to interfere with his life. That’s why it’s  _his_  life. He could make mistakes – it doesn’t make him someone’s pity party. He hates when people pity him, he hates when they act like he’s a fragile glass about to break if you touch it. He didn’t let anyone take care of him – even his own mother when he broke his arm in gymnastics. That’s just the type of person he is, it’s not his fault.

Sighing in defeat, Harry knows he couldn't just let the conversation end there with Louis already upset over Josh. “Wait!” with Harry’s call, Louis still didn’t give an indication of stopping. Giving Zayn and Niall a look to go back to the party, the captain swallows all his pride and jogs over to where Louis was about to unlock his car. The door was half way open but Harry was quick to lean his body against it, effectively closing and blocking Louis from leaving. The boy is about to protest but Harry continues talking, “Why does everything we do end with you walking away and making me feel like a dick?”

“Because you are one,” Louis mumbles like child, refusing to look Harry in the eye.

“Good come back,” Harry mocks, earning a poke in the stomach. He laughs, poking the cheerleader back. They keep this going, playfully poking each other while making the other squirm. “I want a second chance,” he brings up casually.

“A second chance?” Louis dodges another poke to the shoulder, “you never got  _a_  chance to begin with.”

“You’re irritating,” stopping the poking war, Harry looks at the boy was big innocent eyes that make Louis’ legs turn to jello, “but seriously I want a chance to redeem myself. I feel like you hate me because I came off as a douche bag – which I’m not by the way.”

Rolling his eyes, Louis lightly pushes the player off his car. About to open the door again, he pauses.  _I can’t believe I’m doing this_  he thinks. Turning back to Harry, he smiles, “fine. I’ll go on  _one_  date with you if it means you’ll leave me alone. And that doesn’t mean we are dating in any shape or form, it’s just two  _friends_  getting to know each other away from everyone else, got it?” It’s the least Louis can do to show his gratitude towards the boy. If a date is all he wants – then fine. That’s an easy thing to give. It’s not like he has to like it.

“You have to pinky promise if you like this  _date_  then I get second,” Harry holds his little finger up to the boy. Louis looks at it with an are-you-kidding expression, but nonetheless hooks his pinky, laughing silently.

Louis realizes they’ve been just staring at each other with their pinkies hooked together for a few moments, but he doesn’t want to be the one to let go first. “I’m gonna head home,” Giving him a sad smile, Harry let’s his hand fall to the side. Again, they both stare at one another with a longing type of gaze that screamed desperation. Harry knew that look. Louis was broken – he needed someone. And this isn’t a new thing; he can tell there’s something Louis is hiding from everyone. He shuts down all his doors to people so he doesn’t have to deal with the judgment of others. Harry could be the person who is there to lend Louis a shoulder to cry on.

“Drive safe.”

He could be the one to save Louis.


	6. chapter v

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> New characters are introduced and Louis changes his schedule.

“I don’t know, I just so see them together,” Mary shrugs, devouring another chip as she sits with her friends, “I’m not the only one who sees it right?”

“Yeah totally,” they agree, nodding their heads and looking out upon the bleachers to the practice fields. Lacy scribbles down another math answer and picks her head up to look at varsity.

“I heard on Friday he went off with a  _Woodbridge_  player,” her peers lean in closer with curiosity as the daily gossip progressed, “they had sex in the guy’s car and after Harry beat up the kid up ‘cause he was jealous then Louis yelled at him for being stupid.” Her friends gape and she nods her head, “I know right. He’s the stupid one. If I had Harry chasing after  _me_  –“ she casts her eyes on the said player as he sprints across the field with a football flying at his feet.

Mary forgets about her algebra and sighs admiringly, “He’s so fit. Why does he have to be gay?” they all agree again. “But look at them!” Everyone snaps their heads back to the field below. Harry has jogged over to the boy cheerleader and lifted him up so Louis is hanging like a bag of potatoes over his shoulder. From the bleachers, the freshman can fully hear Louis screaming to be put down but Harry just laughs. “They’re so cute! How are they  _not_ dating?”  Louis kicks and punches the boy and finally Harry complies with his wishes and sets him down much like a toddler.

“On the way to chemistry today I heard they’re going on a date Sunday.” Mary grins proudly, loving how she’s able to contribute to the gossip.

“But didn’t Louis and Zayn –“ Mary nods as Lacy motions for the two having sex, “and what about Ben –“ she nods with an ‘ _I know’_  expression written on her face. “And I heard something about Niall.”

“Are you serious?” Melina raises her eyebrows and her mouth drops open, “If you ask me, he’s a down right slut.” Mary shrugs once more, picking out another chip and munching on the delicious snack.

Lacy moves her hair behind her ear and relaxes back into the bleachers, “First off, a boy can’t be a slut. They’re called man whores,” Mary laughs, “Second, he’s really nice. I talked to him after practice and he even helped me pack my cheering bag ‘cause I was running late. Also, I have foods with him but we’re in different groups.”

“So _that’s_  how you hear all that shit about him,” Mary points out accusingly and Lacy raises both hands up in defeat.

“I can’t help I have good listening skills! And it’s not like he tries to whisper. Half the time, he doesn’t even do the assignment and just sits on the kitchen stool to talk to this weird kid. What’s his name? Uhh – oh! Liam. You’ve seen him at lunch right?”

“Are you talking about Liam –“ Melina cups her mouth with her hand.

“But he –“

“Does he know –“

Lacy shakes her head, “Louis probably has no clue about that guy. Someone should tell him – heck, I thought by now Eleanor would have used her big mouth of hers to at least inform him of what happened but nope. Or he does know and he doesn’t care – and personally, I don’t think it’s such a big deal. People make mistakes you know?” Mary and Melina agree nonetheless.

“If he keeps up with the sleeping around bullshit no one’s gonna like him anymore – I know I don’t,” Melina brushes off her eraser crumbs on her notebook lying on her thighs, “I bet by the end of the school year everyone on varsity will hate him,” the two other girls shoot her a look and she points at Louis on the field, “Can you honestly look me in the eye and tell me he’s going to stay friends with those rich snobs we call captains?”

Mary opens her mouth to protest but down at varsity practice, Louis laughs obnoxiously loud and shouts ‘it was only a blowjob!’ to Tiffany who bursts out laughing replying ‘but  _seriously_ Louis, out of all people you blow Ben?’ Melina rolls her eyes and looks back to her friends, “okay maybe just Tiffany ‘cause they are whores together.”

“Shut it you loon,” Lacy sniggers towards her, “he’s one of the sweetest guys you’ll ever meet and so what if he – what would even call that? – okay, so what if he ‘experiments’ with people? That’s what you’re  _suppose_  to do before you find that perfect someone.”

“So I have to blow every boy I meet until one of them sweeps me off my feet and we live happily ever after?” Melina laughs, earning a swift slap to her head by Lacy.

“You know what I mean.” There’s a pause where no one mutters a word and Lacy flicks her hair off her shoulders, “So,” she swiftly changes the topic, “are you guys going to the dance next Friday?” Everyone smiles excitedly and she takes that as a yes, “Jack asked me but –“

“Lacy!” Mary squeals along with Melina, “Oh my god you two are so cute together! You said yes right?”

-o-

The next day, Niall greets Louis at homeroom with a huge bear hug that has him struggling to breathe. The blonde just laughs when he grows red, patting the empty desk next to him.

“Can you explain why you’re in such an awesome mood today?” Louis sets his books carefully on the surface, leaning backwards in his chair and crossing his arms.

“I just heard there’s a sick party this Saturday!” Niall exclaims, braces shining with the classroom light, “And parties are my shit. This one is suppose to be the best of the year – heard the person throwing it owns a fucking  _mansion_ with like three pools.” Louis nods, an amused smile tugging at the corners of his lips. “What? You’re telling me you aren’t excited?”

“No I’m not saying that,” Louis shrugs, “Yeah I heard about that, I wasn’t thinking of going… but I guess-“

“You  _are_  going Tomlinson! Everyone who’s anyone in this school is going to be there. Don’t look at me like that! Parties are a big deal here, if you don’t show that means you’re a loser. Tell ya what, I’ll drive you okay?”

Louis smiles brightly, “Okay, fine. I’ll go. But if it’s shit-“

“Then we’ll be out of there in under thirty seconds and we’ll go feast at McDonalds until we explode!”

“Ah but the thing is you do that everyday,” Louis snorts when Niall gives him a warning look. Niall tries protesting but ends up admitting he has been to the fast food joint almost every day of last week.

Zayn plops down in the desk lying in front of the two, sighing greatly and nuzzling his head in his folded arms. Louis laughs at the boy, poking the jelled hair spiked up to a quiff on the footie player’s head. The poke has Zayn springing up and slapping his hand away, “Hey! Don’t you fucking dare,” he growls.

“What’s gotten into you’re pants this morning?” Niall leans in on his forearms, grinning widely at his sleepy friend. “You didn’t fuck Louis in the showers again right?”

Zayn ignores the last question and grumbles miserably, “Long weekend.”

The two don’t bother commenting further. “Speaking of the weekend,” Niall turned back to the cheerleader, “what was all that shit Friday?”

Louis tenses, “Let’s not talk about it okay?”

“Good ‘cause I don’t remember any of it,” Zayn opens his mouth wide and yawns, which has Louis cooing at the adorable boy and pinching his cheeks.

-o-

“Louis can I speak with you out in the hallway please?” 

Everyone in the foods room looks over at the boy. Louis rolls his eyes, jumping down from the stool and following the teacher out of the classroom. With the door shut, she turns to him and pinches the bridge of her nose, “Louis, you  _do_  know you are failing my class and it’s only been a week.”

He shrugs, leaning against the smooth wall and cocking his head to the side, “I’m rubbish at cooking, sue me.” He’s usually not this sassy with teachers but he completely hates this lady. She’s old and wrinkly and she won’t even let him check his phone in class without threatening to write him up.

She shakes her head with disappointment, “If you aren’t going to least try then I suggest you go down to guidance and ask them to switch your schedule. Your partner Liam is doing all the work and it’s not fair for him.”

“You can do that?” he asks with wide eyes and she responds with another sigh. He doesn’t say anymore before he’s rushing down the hallway to the main office.

The guidance counselor, Mrs. Walsh, greets him with a smile and motions for him to sit in the chair in front of her desk. “What can I do for you Louis?”

He situates himself comfortably on the chair, “My foods teacher says I can switch out of her class and… yeah. I want to.”

“Usually people are begging to get in there,” she raises an eyebrow, “any problems I need to be informed of?”

“No!” he calms her worries, “no, I just hate cooking – always been horrible at it. I burn water and she expects me to make a high class dessert in forty minutes. I like the dessert part – but not the work. And I’m failing to top it off.”

Mrs. Walsh nods in understanding, fixing her glasses on her nose to look down at the computer screen. She speedily types a few words and clicks enter, “Okay, so if you switch out of that class, it would change your whole schedule. Well, it depends – what other courses do you have in mind?”

“Is there any that will bring up my GPA?” Don’t get Louis wrong, he hates cooking but that doesn’t mean he isn’t dedicated to maintaining good grades.

“I’m afraid not,” she informs him lightly, “colleges won’t be looking at this year’s grades. They’ll be focused on freshmen through junior because some students have already applied to some schools in hope of early acceptance – and of course the SATs. Basically this year is where you pick classes that will help guide you in the direction of what you are interested in pursuing a career in. That’s why you aren’t really required to take a language or extra math and you are allowed to take two superlatives but if that’s what you’re college looks for – then you do what ever it takes. What are your interests?”

Louis thinks for a moment, “I like theatre and dance. But there isn’t really a class –“

“Well, what about music videos? They dance and even act, am I right?” He slowly nods, not understanding where she’s going with the subject. “What about computers? Are you any good at using one?” He bobs his head yes, “Then it’s perfect! You could take Global TV!”

“What’s that?”

“It’s a new class we opened up for the seniors last year,” she begins to type on her keyboard again, “you learn all sorts of things from producing to directing – I heard it’s very fun. It’s not just newscasts either, you shoot music videos and for their big project last year the students had to create their own song and record a music video with a guest singer. I think it would be perfect for you,” she shoots him a smile while hitting backspace, “you need to be creative – I can tell you would love it. Are you interested because – oh! – you’re in luck. There’s only one more spot open for that class.”

Louis hurriedly nods his head up and down, “Yeah totally! That actually sounds really cool,” he fixes himself again in his chair so he’s sitting up straight.

The counselor pulls out a piece of computer paper, “Okay, so if you were to switch to Global TV, then you’re going to be transferred into new classes. You’re lunch and gym would stay the same, but everything else would be flipped around. So instead of math first period you would have…” she lists out a whole new schedule with, as she said, all his main classes changed to different times. “by looking at your English grades I’m going to bump you up to AP,” he doesn’t mind that one. Writing is his favorite hobby but no one knows that.

“Okay!” she slides the paper with his new schedule over the wooden desk, “just go to whatever class I switched you to for this period and tell the teacher I changed your schedule. They should just continue on with the lesson, so make sure to ask somebody for notes or whatever you need to catch up.”

“Thanks!” he smiles brightly, hopping out of his chair and hurrying down the hallway back to foods. He looks over his new schedule, seeing he should be in his new English at this time and that makes him giddy. “Finally out this damn class,” he whispers, turning the door handle to re-enter the room.

The teacher turns her attention away from helping a student mix the ingredients to acknowledge him, “what did guidance say?”

“I switched,” he trotts over to his books on the counter top. Liam looks at him with puppy dog eyes.

“You’re leaving me?” he pouts cutely. “But you’re the only friend I have in here,”

Louis places a hand over his heart and pouts his bottom lip out, “I’m sorry, love. I can’t stand to be in this room another day. I’ll see you at lunch, yeah?” he smiles, saluting the teacher one last goodbye and heads out to the hallway.

He stops at his locker, grabbing a few necessary things he might need for a new course – a folder, notebook, an extra pencil – then proceeds to room 503. On the way, Louis passes a few students who look at him with venom but he returns their rude faces with a bitchy smile and continues to walk up the stairs. Yes, he already has people who hate him – and honestly he doesn’t have the time to care.

The room numbers start to grow until he finally spots 503 in the corner by the second set of stairs that lead you to the odd number floors. Smoothing down his shirt and flipping his fringe out of his eyes, Louis hugs his supplies to his chest and opens the door.

All heads turn away from the board like meerkats at the sound of the door clicking and stare at the visitor. Louis swallows down the lump that suddenly grew in his throat from all the eyes on him as the teacher greets him, “Hi, can I help you with something?”

“Yeah, uh” Louis refuses to look any kid in the eye as he walks up to the front with the teacher, “I transferred into this class – Mrs. Walsh said I could just say she sent me here and you’d be okay with it.”

She raises an eyebrow; “You do know this is senior advanced placement English, correct?” her lips are curled in a disgusted frown while scanning him over.

“Yes?” it comes out more of a question then a statement. He looks over her face and crosses his arms defensively, “are you implying I look too dumb to be in this class?”

“No!” she quickly replies, eyes widening with surprise, “No – not at all hun! I’m sorry!” shaking her head regretfully she continues, “I didn’t mean my sentence to come out as it did. Let’s start over. I’m Ms. Thomas, what’s your name?”

He straightens up, softening his glare but his eyes still hardened, “Louis Tomlinson.”

“Okay, Louis,” she smiles and motions to the desks, “pick a seat and I’ll give you the notes after class to review what we’ve learned last week so you don’t fall behind. For now, just copy down all the material I have on the board to have when you do homework tonight – and yes, you will have homework even though you’re new.”

He feels better that he’s being a bit more accepted and he turns towards the students. There’s only one set of desks in the back row available – he prefers somewhere in the middle or in the general area so he could easily read the board but he guesses - “Oh shit.”

Occupying one of the two desks, none other then Harry Styles is evilly smirking at him with his notebook sprawled out on the surface and pencil tapping against the paper. The boy wears a black, gold, and puffy varsity jacket with denim skinny jeans that hug his calves in the way – Louis quickly snaps out of those thoughts to look back to the teacher pleadingly, “is there anywhere else I could sit?”

She shakes her head, looking between the boys with curiosity, “Is there a problem between you two?”

Louis sighs dramatically, replying a quick ‘no’ and making his way to his new seat. He hesitantly sits, flipping open his notebook and beginning to copy down what’s on the board. The teacher continues on with the lesson as if he never entered.

“Well, well, well,” Harry tilts his head, completely forgetting the notes and admiring Louis’ side profile, “what a surprise to see you here.”

The boy ignores him, looping his handwriting and trying his best to make it look neat while his head is spinning.

“So you changed your schedule hm?” Harry doesn’t ask – mainly because he knows he won’t receive an answer – and plucks the paper Mrs. Walsh gave him from underneath Louis’ notebook. The cheerleader makes a grab to retrieve it but sighs in defeat when the other boy keeps moving it farther away. A few seconds later, Harry’s smile – or smirk Louis can’t decide – grows impossibly wider, “except gym and that ‘global tv’ thing we have the same schedule.”

“Are you kidding me?” Louis groans quietly, still trying to keep quiet so they won’t get in trouble. “Great,” he mumbles sarcastically, snatching back the paper with a bit more aggressively than he meant to.

Harry shakes with silent laughter, “What are you so mad about?” his dimples flash and Louis refuses himself to melt right then and there.

Shrugging casually, Louis begins to take notes again. He squints his eyes in thought, inquisitiveness getting the best of him and he looks back to Harry, “Why were you sitting here all by yourself?”

Harry purses his lips, “I prefer to sit alone in my classes ‘cause I get distracted easily. But I guess now I don’t have a choice with you invading my schedule.”

“I didn’t invade,” Louis whispers matter-of-factly, “I was forced. There’s a difference.”

“So you’re referring to being forced and technically if you’re forced to do things for others - isn’t that another term for slave?” his dimples are back, his eyes sparking with mischief, “so you’re my slave now? That’s hot,”

Louis covers his mouth quickly to stop from giggling, squatting at Harry’s arm lying next to his on the desk, “You’re a kinky bastard,” the teacher shoots the two a pointed look and they immediately quiet down.

The students around them peak their eyes away from the lesson to watch the boys interact, finding the secret conversations and exchanged looks much more entertaining. Students in the class are not used to sharing the same room with two of the most popular kids in school, let alone  _Louis Tomlinson_  and  _Harry Styles_.

Ten minutes before the period is due to end, Louis shivers from the sudden cold breeze circling the room. Goosebumps rise on his tan skin, and he rubs his hands on his arms to try to heat himself up. The teacher turns away to finish the last of the notes and unexpectedly, Harry nudges him. His jacket is now off and placed in his hands, offering the piece of clothing to Louis.

At first, the cheerleader shakes his head and whispers, “no it’s yours, I’ll be fine,” but Harry doesn’t take that answer. Opening the material, he gently places the jacket on Louis’ shoulders. Instantly, warmth covers his back and he slips his limps into the armholes. The jacket literally swallows his tiny frame – long enough to reach the middle his thighs and the sleeves extending beyond his fingertips – but Louis likes the idea of clothes that hang off his body instead of squeezing it. He smiles gratefully at Harry, muttering a shy ‘thank you’ and refocusing on the lesson for what it seems the hundredth time.


	7. chapter vi

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Party time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i suck at writing dance scenes sorry in advance how awkward it's written

Louis is, once again, dressed to impress for this party. He’s been bouncing all day in anticipation – even picking out his outfit at noon. A simple sky blue, low cut tang top that has a Indian pattern going across the middle with bright white skinny jeans – and when he says skinny he means they are so _tight_  he can make out every bump and curve of his thighs and perfectly shaped arse – and lime vans he just ordered online.

Okay, he’d be lying to himself if he said he wasn’t trying to impress anyone tonight.

This is his first party in Cheshire he’s attending – he wants to come in and go out with a bang. Light colored clothing always brings out his tan skin and the blue compliments while making his eyes pop. He decided to leave his hair in a small fringe, letting his brown locks sweep over his forehead slightly but not enough to cover completely.

If he was being perfectly honest with himself – he has to admit he looks like pure sex on legs. He’s always liked the outfit on his body, even if it is somewhat hipster like the girls on Tumblr, but you have to give him some credit that he at least  _tried_  to look hot unlike some boys who wear the same thing everyday.

Jay forced him to stay home at least until after dinner, which was okay due to the fact Niall was picking him up at 9 anyway.

When he comes trotting down the stairs in his outfit, Jay chokes on the broccoli she was taste testing. Louis immediately runs to her aide, patting her back waiting for the choking to subside. Once she was able to breathe properly, she motions frantically to his outfit, “You look like a girl!”

“Shut up,” he sticks out his tongue, taking his hand off her back and making his way to the breakfast bar.

“Are those actual pants or did you just paint your legs white?” she stifles a laugh, tilting her head to peer down at his impossibly tight skinny jeans, “I mean your poor legs look like they’re suffocating in those!”

He rolls his eyes, sliding his phone out of his back pocket and typing in the lock code, “thanks mum that makes me feel  _so much_  better about my outfit choice,” he mumbles sarcastically, texting Niall back his address for later.

Jay chuckles, going back to work on the stove, “So who’s the lucky guy tonight? Is it that Zayn fellow or have you guys stopped talking?” she sprinkles in a few spices in the pot, keening her ears to listen to her son.

“Nah, I don’t have an actual date,” he scrolls through facebook and likes a few statuses asking if anyone would be coming to the party, “I’m hanging out with the jocks and such. A lot of people from school were invited so I’m not completely sure who’s going to be there.” he shrugged.

His phone vibrates with a new text from Harry.

To: Louis

From: Haz

are you coming tonight? .x

He snorts looking down at the message. Jay raises her eyebrow towards him and he explains, “It’s Harry. He’s the one who’s obsessed with me, you know, who I was talking about at the football game last Friday?”

“Oh right! I remember you mentioned him,” Jay smiles, “he seems like a good lad. You should give him a chance, Lou.”

“I’m going on a date with him tomorrow for your information,” he smirks when she squeals from across the kitchen.

“Oh Louis that’s splendid! Show me a picture of this Harry! I want to see the boy who got my son to actually go on a real  _date_  for the first time in  _months_ ,” she comes over to poke him playfully on the cheek. Louis quickly snaps his head away from her while whining for her to shut up again.

He obligates to her request, searching Harry’s name on facebook and clicking on his profile picture. When it loads, he turns the phone so the screen shines brightly towards Jay. “Aw, he has dimples! That’s adorable! And look at those curls; gosh they are to die for! I don’t under how you aren’t swooning over him!”

“Maybe  _you_ should ask him out mum, you sound like a crazy teen with a crush for crying out loud. He’s… I don’t know honestly,” he hangs his head low, scanning the picture, “He’s really sweet and he seems like a good guy but I’m not ready for a commitment, I barely even know him.”

Jay gives him a disappointed look but shrugs and continues stirring the vegetables, “I can’t tell you what to do Boo Bear – I just hope you’re making the right decisions. Maybe you’re right and Harry turns out to be a prick. But there  _is_ that slight possibility you have to keep in mind that he might be the one you marry one day. You never know.” She smiles warmly, her energy shining right through him and making him beam right back.

Yeah, there’s that possibility Harry – or anyone he meets rather – could end up his husband or wife but he still has a whole school year to figure that out before college. Right now, he’s not too worried to be looking for soul mates.

—

Niall speeds up his block and screeches to a stop in front of Louis’ house. Daisy watches in awe as a beautiful dirty blonde boy steps out of the Jeep into the night, stretching his arms behind his neck before starting to make his way up the pathway to the door. The little toddler sprints to the front entrance, waiting for the boy to knock and struggling to turn the too-high knob to let him in. She manages to do so with the help of Phoebe, swinging the door open to reveal the boy from the Jeep. Niall smiles brightly down at the twins.

“Who are you?” Phoebe cranes her neck to the side, scrunching her nose and looking at Niall with confusion.

“I’m Niall!” he laughs brightly, “I’m here to pick up your brother.”

“ _Louis_!” Daisy yells to the kitchen where her brother is helping Jay clean the dishes. At the sound of his name, Louis throws the dishrag on the counter and steps into the living room to see Niall standing at the doorway.

“Hey!” he motions for Niall to step inside, going over and pecking him on the cheek. Niall politely shuts the door as he stands on the carpet. “I’ll be back in one second then we’ll head out. And let me just introduce you to the twins,” he turns his body towards the little blonde girls staring up at them with bright smiles, “That’s Daisy and that’s Phoebe. Now girls don’t harass Niall, he’ll tell me if you say anything.” He points an accusing finger before making his way up the stairs. Niall can’t help but gawk at the outfit Louis is wearing, not so subtly checking out his arse as he walks up the steps.

“Are you Louis’ boyfwiend?” Daisy elbows Phoebe in the ribs, giving her a look to shut up because Louis wouldn’t approve of them asking such questions.

Niall laughs, prying his eyes away from the stairs and squatting down to their level, “No we’re j’st mates. I’m on the football team he cheers for.”

“You talk funny,” they both giggle from his accent – never have heard an Irish person talk before.   
  
“Oh hello,” Niall straightens up to see a women leaning against the kitchen doorway, “I’m Louis’ mum but you can call me Jay.” She has a vibe that makes Niall feel more comfortable in her presence, letting him relax his shoulders and extend a hand.

“I’m Niall, pleasure to meet ya Jay,” she shakes his hand.

“Okay let’s go!” Louis bounces from the stairs, smelling of chocolate axe that makes Niall’s mouth water and the twins gag. Kissing Jay on the cheek, Louis hugs her and the girls goodbye, “I don’t know when I’ll be back but don’t wait up for me,” then follows Niall out the door. He climbs into the Jeep, not bothering to fasten the seat belt.

Niall roars the engine to life and slams on the gas. Louis flies back in his seat, laughing loudly as the blonde goes three times the speed limit towards a stop sign. They talk excitedly over the wind about who’s attending the party, Louis’ nerves increasing with every mile they grow closer to the house.

“J’st saying I completely love your arse in those jeans,” Niall comments without taking his eyes off the road.

A light tint of pink appears on Louis’ cheeks, “Thanks I was worried I tried too much.”

“In my opinion I think the less clothes the better,” the blonde laughs as Louis rolls his eyes but giggles too.

Checking the street before making a sharp right on the correct block, sure enough there’s dozen of cars parked in a huge driveway with music blasting out of a mansion. Louis gulps, hands suddenly becoming sweaty at the sight.

Niall parks his Jeep on the grass, not caring if he just ran over a garden gnome and swings out of the car. Louis takes a deep breath and starts walking up the ridiculously long driveway to the backyard. “Zayn texted me before saying meet them by the…” both boys squint in confusion. “Bounce house?”

Opening the fence, Louis’ mouth drops open. The backyard expands for what it seems miles back with a crap load of people hovering around – dancing, drinking, screaming, kissing – with a huge pool in the middle. Girls with no clothes but their panties are jumping into the pool, there’s guys running around streaking, and even a dog! “This looks sick!” Niall gushes, not able to look away from the girls at the pool.

Louis spots the bounce house from where he’s standing; a familiar mop of curls catching his eye. He shouts to Niall he’s going over to Harry but the blonde is already sprinting to the pool. He shakes his head amused, strolling over to the bounce house and sneaking up on Harry. Just like last Friday, Louis jabs the boy in stomach from behind. Harry jumps around and suddenly wraps his arms around the boy, squeezing the life out of him but laughing while doing it.

“I’m so glad you’re here!” Harry shouts over the music, Louis noticing his eyes are beyond dilated and there’s only a thin line of green left.

“Me too this party looks awesome!” he waves over to Zayn who’s sucking on a blonde girl’s neck. He doesn’t greet him back, too focused on squeezing the girl’s arse. 

“Wow,” Harry droops his head to the side, scanning Louis’ body, “You look sexy as hell.”

Louis blushes again, nudging Harry with his elbow, “You don’t look too bad yourself Haz.” Harry is wearing a flannel – who wears those to parties by the way? – and a pair of black jeans. His curls seem to shine under the moon light, lightly bouncing as the captain bobs his head along to the music.

“Want a drink?” Louis nods, following Harry inside the mansion where it’s a tad bit quieter and less people are crowded around the kitchen.

“So how high are you right now?” Louis laughs while pouring himself a big cup of a random bottle on the counter. Harry tilts his head towards the ceiling and breathes deeply.

“All I know is everything is blurry,” he shrugs like it’s a casually thing, “Zayn had a friend who had some weed and before I knew it half the joints were gone. It was kind of one of those moments I wanted to get so high I can’t remember tonight,”

Louis takes a big gulp, giving a look to Harry that tells him he’s listening, “Why would you want to forget tonight?”

“Dunno,” he plucks the cup out of Louis’ hands and swallows down the liquid, “If something happens then I can say I don’t remember so I’m saved from what ever drama boils it’s way to everyone on Monday. Because I know for a fact some girl will starting talking then it will be a big game of telephone and before anyone can blink someone is crying in the principal’s office.”

Louis takes his drink back, not caring Harry’s lips were on the cup and emptying the rest in his mouth, “Yeah. That happened to my friend but she was accused of killing someone and had to go to the police station until they realized she wasn’t even at the party.”

“Prime example!” he waves his hands around, “I don’t want to remember if I saw someone being killed because then that makes me a murder!”

Louis laughs at his idiotic ramble when Harry unexpectedly hugs him tightly, pinning the smaller boy to the kitchen counter. He sighs in defeat; running his fingers down Harry’s back and playing with the end of his flannel.

“It’s scary how much I like you,” It’s barely a whisper – so quiet not even Louis could fully register it. So that’s what he does. He pretends he didn’t just hear Harry mumble those seven words in his ear that makes his heart flutter wildly in his chest.

Luckily, two girls who are obnoxiously drunk slam the back door to the kitchen open, making Harry and Louis spring apart. Louis goes straight over to the huge alignment of bottles and fills his cup again, shutting off his mind in focus of getting drunk himself.

Much, much alcohol later, Louis is feeling a buzz that abruptly makes him want to dance from all the energy flowing through his body. He grasps Harry’s hand, pulling the boy outside once more to the huge crowd in front of a DJ. Spinning towards Harry, the captain rests his hands on Louis’ hips, the smaller cheerleader complies and he wraps his arms around Harry’s neck. They sway to the beat together, crotches grinding together deliciously. Louis looks around to see Zayn coming towards the two out of the corner of his eye with hunger written in his eyes.

Zayn attaches himself to Louis’ backside and starts grinding on his arse. His hands lay right below Harry’s, fingers inches away from his dick. Louis can faintly feel the outline of Zayn’s hard on against his arse and with every rock of hips he feels it harden more. Louis grins, feeling the concentrated heat of Zayn’s crotch rubbing against him from behind – he lets the boy grind against the roundness of his arse until both of them are panting. With two sets of hands and two bodies pressed against him, Louis doesn’t know how to handle to situation and the alcohol he’s consumed makes him lean forward to shove his tongue down Harry’s throat. This is the first time they’re kissing and -  _wow_. Harry’s tongue slides next to his and presses farther into his mouth and Louis fights not to melt right then and there. He tastes so – so  _warm_  and  _pleasant_ with a dash of mint with some weed and he’s not being too forceful and there are no teeth – Louis thinks he could kiss Harry forever. His head spins with the mixture of the feeling of Harry’s lips and tequila he drank earlier that his brain is going on over drive – but he doesn’t really mind to be honest. Harry’s huge hands pet the soft skin of his stomach and he can’t shake the sensation of his fingers dancing and tapping along to the beat of the song playing. Louis’ hands tighten around Harry’s neck to bring them impossibly closer and Zayn’s hands still palm him through his jeans. He whines into Harry’s mouth, in desperate need of less clothes because it’s growing too hot for things to suffocate his body so he forces himself to pull away from Harry and throws his shirt off. The crowd around them cheers and he smirks before diving back to Harry’s plump lips – his own starting to feel swollen with every growing minute. Zayn moves his mouth to his neck, sucking and nibbling at the soft skin right near his ear. Harry’s knee slides in-between his legs, and Louis shamelessly grinds down on the limb while rolling his arse back into Zayn. Zayn bites particularly hard on his neck and he gasps in Harry’s mouth, not having time before Harry continues to mold their lips together perfectly. Louis can feel the material Harry and Zayn are both wearing by the feeling of his bare chest rubbing into both of them and he boldly let’s out a moan that makes Harry’s dick twitch in his pants.

“Let’s go swimming,” Harry whispers hotly in his ear and he agrees. Pulling away from Zayn with a pout, Harry leads him to the pool where a naked Niall splashes girls with huge breasts and tries to talk one of them into leaving with him tonight.

Harry rips off his shirt, his toned chest making Louis’ mouth go dry at the sight. His shirt is somewhere forgotten on the dance floor where he left Zayn so he quickly – but it proves to be a challenge – peels off his skinny jeans and vans. Everyone whistles when he’s completely naked and he’s about to tell them to shut up but Harry’s naked too and he grabs Louis by the waist – diving into the pool. Louis lets out a yelp, crashing into the freezing water but his whole body gets the cold relief he’s been craving from the intense heat. Swimming back to the top, he sees Harry laughing at the side of the pool with his curls watered down to pieces of hair carelessly dripping down his forehead. “You’re a prick!” he swims over to the boy and lands a light punch on his arm but Harry spins him around so Louis is sitting – or floating due to the water – on his lap. Harry teasingly nudges his entrance and Louis’ glad his lower half is under water because his dick would literally spring up from the feeling.

Harry’s wet mouth is talking into his ear but Louis’ too focused on how the water is shining off the surface and just nods in agreement. He’s mesmerized by how awesome the party looks – so many people running around like crazy animals and so many hot people his head is spinning. None of them go to Cheshire, right? He would have seen them in the hallway by now – so they must go to a different school.

“Fuck it’s cold,” he shivers, swimming to the ladder and climbing out. He looks around and finds his clothes thankfully near and Harry isn’t far behind, pulling on his pants – which are now soaked – and they look at each other. 

“Wanna go inside?” Harry suggests when he notices Louis shivering, stepping closer to the boy.

Louis nods, wobbling a little from the drinks he’s consumed. Harry puts a hand on his small dip of his back to guide him, the touch sending a weird sensation running up his spine. The door slides open, and Harry says something but Louis isn’t listening.

He doesn’t know who started kissing who. Harry’s pinning him to the wall, licking into his mouth and sucking on his bottom lip. Louis moans his name, scratching his nails down the boy’s still bare back. Pressing himself firmer against Louis’ crotch, the cheerleader gives up on standing and wraps his legs around his hips – Harry taking the opportunity to move the two somewhere private. Walking carefully as possible, his hands grope Louis’ arse and he kicks open a door – which reveals one of the many free guest bedrooms. Louis’ back hits the bed, Harry crawling in-between his legs to continue to suck on his neck.

That’s the last thing Louis’ memory can recall from that night before everything else becomes a distant blur.


	8. chapter vii

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Louis regrets what happened and gets grounded.

Sunlight streaming through the windows woke Louis up before he could even open his eyes. He groans softly, headache beating his skull until he could feel the pulse of veins when touching his temple. The sheets underneath the boy feel different, cotton soft to the touch but a weird sticky substance itches his lower back. He makes a move to arch his spine but his senses start to pick up what’s occurring. First, he feels a strong arm wrapped around his stomach, tucking a hand so the fingers slot between the space where his body meets the bed. Then, Louis – how did he not notice  _this_  as soon as he woke – cranes his neck to the side and soft pieces of hair tickle his collarbone.

 

He tenses under the strange body, mind racing to try to remember who it could be. Zayn? He was at the party right? No, he can faintly remember abandoning him on the dance floor to go with -  _oh_.

 

Louis’ eyes fly open; he ignores the feeling of morning crust along his lashes and peers downward. Harry’s face is buried into one shoulder, the blanket slipping down to both the boys’ waists. He doesn’t even have to check to see they are both naked, their bare chests a dead give away.

 

The cheerleader stares at Harry’s sleeping form - the way his mouth is slightly parted when he breathes, the way his chest rises and falls evenly, the way his eyebrows crinkle together with his thoughts in a different world. His face appears adorable when he sleeps, relaxed and so  _childlike_ Louis questions how old Harry really is - he never actually asked in the whole week they shared the same classes together. With every new course, without any type of agreement, Louis just took the seat next to the captain. Harry never sat with anyone so it proved not to be a problem. He was glad to find out Tiffany shared his Global TV class as well, making his whole schedule filled with friends.

        

The captain stirs in his sleep, hand slipping away from Louis’ stomach to flip over. Louis’ heart race goes down when he notices the boy hasn’t awaken.

 

Looking over at the nightstand, Louis remembers that this isn’t his house and he should probably head home – god knows what lies beyond the guest door. He prays Niall hasn’t left. Being ever so gentle not to cause much movement, he removes himself from the bed. His arse shoots a sharp sting of pain up his back, making Louis question himself what they did last night. He knows the answer already though, judging on the condom thrown away in the bedside trash bin.

 

Locating his clothes thrown carelessly to the other side of the room, he slips out his phone and calls Niall. With the dial tone ringing in his ear, Louis looks at Harry on the bed with one last sigh before slowly creaking open the door.

—        

He thanks Niall again, leaving a kiss on the boy’s cheek and hops out of the Jeep. Niall, thankfully, didn’t ask any questions of what happened the night before – both their heads throbbing enough that they didn’t speak much on the car ride.

 

It’s fairly early to be coming home from a party - ten in the morning to be precise - but Louis is an early bird, preferring to have more time in the day.

 

He ignores the limp as he walks up the front pathway, straightening him the best way but knowing Jay will see right through his act. The twins will probably ask questions, though, if they are even up.

 

“What the hell did Harry do last night,” he mumbles in astonishment, wiggling his arse to test if it still stung. It did, but now it’s subdued compared to when he first woke.

 

He fumbles with the house keys, his dirty and stomped on tank top hanging from his left arm. It was a mistake leaving his favorite shirt on a dance floor with hundreds - maybe thousands - of drunken kids. Jay swings the door open before he could slot the key in, wearing a bathrobe and a grin spread on her face. With one look over Louis’ shirtless appearance, she chuckles, “rough night huh?”

 

He grunts sleepily, “Don’t remember.” She steps aside and lets her son walk past, involuntarily noticing the slight limp he possesses. “So who was it?”

        

Louis doesn’t need to elaborate what she means, crashing on the couch and letting the tank top fall to the ground, “Harry,” he sighs, “and I kind of left while he was still sleeping,”

 

Jay leans both hands on the couch, looking down at her son, “Well this isn’t the first time,” she sighs like she’s used to this, “But Boo I thought you were suppose to go on a date with that boy tonight-“

 

His mind snaps, and he fights the urge to audibly groan at the memory. “Yeah!” he chirps, jumping off the couch with a sudden burst of energy, “I-I’m still going with him! Just wanted to come home and shower right? Ha,” he laughs quietly, climbing the stairs before Jay could acknowledge him any further.  Once reaching his room, he slams it shut and leans against the cold wood. Goosebumps rise all along his backside but he doesn’t care at the moment.

 

What is he suppose to do about this date? Will Harry even remember? “Fuck,” he rubs a hand over his face to calm himself. He totally forgot last night before letting Harry take him into that bedroom. Well, it’s not like he couldn’t have stopped it. He was horny and ready for a good time – but now it makes things super awkward for today.

        

His phone buzzing in his pocket has him jumping with surprise. Whipping the device out, his eyes scan over the message.

 

To: Louis

From: Haz

are we still on for today? x

 

Okay, this is a good sign. Harry isn’t saying anything about last night. He even included an ‘x’ and that makes Louis relieved the captain isn’t mad – or just doesn’t remember – he left him this morning.

 

Wait.

 

What is he  _saying_?

 

When has he cared this much for situations to be bearable? Who cares if Harry remembers or not?

 

Louis laughs at himself, chucking the phone so it lands on the beanbag chair in the far corner without responding to the boy. It’s not like he’s actually going to  _go_  on this ‘date’. Sure, he said he would, but does Harry really expect him to go? If he does, that’s a joke.

 

The last date he’s went on ended with heartbreak and his first post-club fuck. Yeah, like he’s going to put himself in that situation again.

        

Grabbing a fresh towel from the hallway closet, Louis steps into the bathroom and clicks the door shut. He’s just going to wash away the captain and all the memories – not that there’s much – down the drain and tomorrow he’s going to act like nothing happened.

        

Hooking up his iPod to the station dock, he scrolls through his playlist while standing naked as the shower temperature adjusts, choosing a classic sing-a-long but dance type of song before flinging open the shower curtain.

 

—

 

Louis texts Zayn when he’s finally finished blow-drying his hair, plopping down on the familiar bed while slipping out his laptop from its drawer.

 

 

Zayn texts back he’ll be there in ten minutes, giving Louis enough time to pick out a suitable outfit for the day. Choosing to be lazy – he blames the hangover – he slips on tight fitting joggers with a simple red hoodie. Collecting his keys and disconnecting his phone off the charger, Zayn buzzes him informing he’s outside.

        

Trotting down the stairs, Jay sits at the breakfast bar while sipping on her afternoon tea. He smiles warmly and drops a kiss on her cheek, “I’ll be back later. It’s already noon go wake the girls!” he jokes, running out of the kitchen.

 

“Harry’s sure here early for a proper date. What are you lads doing?”

 

Louis silently curses. He was hoping she wouldn’t ask, “We’re just going to a diner and afterwards he said something about – uh,” he falters, “I don’t exactly remember but I won’t be back ‘til late!” he lets the lie slip off his tongue, not having the courage to look his mum in the eye before stepping out the door and letting it shut behind him.

 

He smiles brightly, hopping into Zayn’s car, “Hey you!” he ruffles the boy’s hair, taking amusement in the way he grumbles miserably in response. “Did someone wake up on the wrong side of the Perrie this morning?” he mocks in a baby voice, laughing when Zayn’s cheeks stain pink.

 

“Shut up,” Zayn mumbles but with a smile on his face, craning his neck to pull out of the driveway. On the road, he starts speaking again, “I actually was good and went home last night. But not before I saw you and Harry go into that room,” he shoots a wink to Louis.

 

The cheerleader thumps his head against the chilled window, “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” he shrugs, swiping his tongue along his dried bottom lip, “nothing occurred.”

 

“If you say so Lou,” Zayn laughs, flicking on his left blinker and turning into the food joint, “but seriously did anything happen?”

        

Louis waits for the gear to be set to park, not answering him and climbing out of the car to avoid the question. The darker boy follows close behind, smirking wildly, “But something totally happened! C’mon I won’t say anything! Just tell me,” Zayn pouts his lip out once situated in the line, “You know I don’t care if you and Harry shagged –“

        

“Okay fine!” Louis snaps, leaning his arse against the red railing to face Zayn, “Harry fucked me last night happy?” this earns very shocked expressions of innocent bystanders waiting for their food next to them but Louis continues on, “I don’t even remember and he doesn’t either. I was drunk, he was high – so it works out because I don’t want to talk about it.”

 

“You never want to talk about anything,” rolling his eyes, Zayn shoots a glare to a little toddler and watches with a smile as the boy clings to his mother tightly in fear, “I don’t mean to sound like a needy boyfriend but whenever the topic of you and Harry is so much as  _thought_ of, you act like it’s a contagious disease or something. Why can’t you just admit you like him?”

 

“Because I don’t!” Louis’ voice squeaks. He lowers his tone once more and crosses his arms, “I don’t. Sure, I like him as a _friend_  but nothing more. Just like you sugar pop,” he pinches Zayn’s cheek and the boy slaps his hand away. Louis sticks his tongue out playfully in response.

 

“I’m not stupid Louis,” Zayn dodges being touched by the boy again, “I see the way you look at him. In the halls, at practice – heck – yesterday you just ditched me completely to go with him without a second thought. Don’t you think that at least says  _something_?”

 

Louis scans his eyes over the menu above, “Are you trying to play match maker or…? I just  _don’t_  like Harry like that,  _let it go_  and move on.” Zayn is about to protest further but he wraps a hand around the boy’s bicep, “I’m actually interested in a dark fellow with a quiff and beautiful brown eyes,” he winks cheekily at Zayn who laughs with enjoyment and pulls away.

 

“Whatever mate. You’ll see. Harry isn’t, well, he doesn’t like –“

 

“What can I get for you boys?” The middle-aged woman behind the cash register cuts off Zayn’s sentence. Louis suppresses commenting that a lady that age shouldn’t be working at McDonalds,  _I mean do you have any dignity_?

 

“I’ll take two double cheeseburgers and an extra large fry with a vanilla shake,” Zayn casually flicks his eyes from the lady to the menu, “Oh! And add an M&M Mcflurry?” Louis stares dumbfounded at the boy, refusing his mouth the drop open. Zayn pays no mind to the look, turning to Louis and waiting for him to order as well.

 

“Um I’ll just have a grilled chicken Caesar salad with a bottled water. Low fat dressing thanks,” Louis laughs at Zayn when he makes a disgusted face.

 

“That’s not a proper meal! Add another McFlurry to his order,” he commands the lady who’s having trouble punching in everything requested.

 

Louis shakes his head, “Nope. I’m not fat like you I don’t want it. Honestly you’re going to be sick when you’re finished with all of that.”

 

“ _Please_ ,” Zayn hands over the right amount when the lady finally manages to get it down, “you think  _I’m_  bad? Niall eats like four doubles with two orders of extra large fries and a whole bunch of other crap. I’m only indulging because I’m fucking hungry as hell and I have a right to eat whatever I please after last night.”

        

Louis puts his hands up in defeat, not choosing to challenge Zayn any further on the matter. “When you are fat and old don’t come crying to me,” his bottled water is slid over the counter and he breaks the seal open to take a refreshing sip. The coldness travels down his throat and he feels when it hits his stomach – something that happens when it’s the first thing he eats in the morning.

 

They wait in comfortable silence for a few minutes as the kitchen bustles around in a frenzy to fill orders. Louis pointedly ignores the buzz from his pocket, eyes glued to the floor to occupy thoughts. Zayn mindlessly scrolls through his phone, eyes squinting every few minutes as he taps away at the screen.

—        

Jay angles the broom parallel to under the couch, reaching out to sweep in the far back. She manages with a stroke of luck to finally take hold of the necklace with the flimsy bristles, being ever so gentle while sliding it towards her. Phoebe squeals with delight once the necklace is placed in her hands, hugging Jay’s leg as appreciation. “Thanks mummy!” she scampers off down the hallway to the playroom.

 

The mother watches with a weary smile as her daughter runs away, breathing a sigh of relief once she’s out of earshot. Calmly placing the broom against the couch, she looks around the living room.  _Finally_  – she could have some time to relax in peace. The girls were so cranky when they woke, screeching for Jay to leave but she pulled off the covers to each bed. Daisy threw a fit, throwing her pillow across the room so it hit the princess lamp – effectively knocking it off the desk to smash to the ground. Phoebe started crying at that, being it was her favorite thing in the whole wide world. Jay controlled her enough not to yell but instead swept up the remaining lamp pieces to insure no one would step on any glass.

 

Really, these girls are a handful, especially when it comes to lunch. They whine and complain that Jay didn’t make what they want and won’t tell their mum  _what_  they want until she’s cooked four different types of food.

                 

After lunch the girls are usually satisfactorily happy to interest themselves with toys set in a certain room, away from the rest of the house. Jay rather prefers when her son is playing with the girls. Louis always handles them perfectly and when their older brother is around, the tend to act like angels.

 

She takes a deep breath, eyeing the couch with adoration. Reaching her arm out to settle herself into the cushions, there’s a knock at the door. Jay groans, shooting the couch a sad glance and jogging to the front. She smoothes down her shirt and plasters a smile across her exhausted face, swinging the door open.

 

“Erm,” the young man waiting outside the entrance hesitates, licking his licks nervously, “You must me Mrs. Tomlinson,”

 

“Why yes I am,” her smile doesn’t drop. She observes as the boy shoves his hands deeper into his jean pockets, big curls covering his eyes, as he looks downward. He glimpses up once more, and her memory clicks, “you must be that Harry fellow!”

 

Harry smiles shyly, “Uh yeah I guess that’s me.” His stomach twists in a weird way at the thought of Louis’ mum already knowing who he is, “Is, uh, is Louis here? I’ve been trying to text him but he won’t answer his phone.”

 

Jay suddenly frowns, pointing her finger towards the boy, “He told me he went off with you a few hours ago. Wait –“ she gapes at him, “That boy _lied_  to me?” she shakes her head with a new feeling of disappoint and somewhat anger.

 

“I’m sorry I didn’t mean to cause trouble!” Harry swiftly adds when Jay grips the door knob tighter, “He just never answered me so I thought – you know what?” he waves a hand, “I’ll just ring him again – probably didn’t have time to check. I’m sorry,” his tone is sincere laced with anxiety and Jay takes a breath to calm down.

 

“No I’m sorry Harry,” she smiles once again, “And I’m sorry this is how we meet, you sound like a good lad and it would have been nice to properly introduce myself without a situation like this. You can call me Jay by the way.”

 

“No – uh, Jay it’s fine,” his smile doesn’t reach his eyes as he speaks, “You seem lovely as well. But just to leave off on a good foot,” he extends a hand, “I’m Harry Styles. Pleasure to meet you.”

        

Jay notices right away his handshake is firm and permanent – a good quality to search for in a guy. A decent handshake always shows how confident and strong minded they are. Harry also holds a spark of charm that makes her think he’s a type of person that holds certain likeability that draws people in to his warm personality. She always can tell just by a simple conversation, she’s old enough with a lot of experience with different varieties of people to tell first hand. “Likewise.”

 

He pulls his arm away, smiling forcibly as if trying to look happy, “I hope we cross paths again, maybe this time with Louis.” He laughs curtly, spinning on his heels and walking down the stretch of path to a very expensive and _very_  detailed looking black Mustang. Jay’s eyes bulge out of her sockets at the sight, watching as Harry roars the heavenly sounding engine to life and speeds away.

 

“Polite, good looking, and rich,” she purses her lips while stepping back into the warmth of her home, “I really wonder what the hell Louis was thinking,” with that, she shuts the door.

—

Giggling like a schoolgirl, Louis tangles his fingers in the collar of Zayn’s shirt, pulling him impracticable closer as he shoves his tongue down the boy’s throat. They both taste of fresh smoke; just have been outside on Zayn’s porch breathing a few sticks of sweet nicotine. Louis quit smoking last year when Jay caught him with another boy leaning against the side of their house. He hasn’t really cared for it as much with moving and all but when given the opportunity why not?

 

He spreads his legs wider, Zayn slotting hips with his as they grind together on the duvet. The darker boy’s house was free of any parents or sibling when they walked in around three in the afternoon, after a very long trip to the mall to browse. Louis didn’t plan on hooking up with Zayn today, but he figured – again – why not? He’s got nothing to lose and doesn’t want to head home yet.

        

Zayn’s hands squeeze his small waist, tilting his head to the left so their mouths mold in sync. He grinds his groin filthy against Louis, and the smaller boy’s hands running along his broad back to try and find purchase. He breaks away to throw his head back in bliss, a quick but deep ‘ah’ leaving his mouth at the feeling. His pulse thumps wilding in his chest, sending a heartbeat type of sensation to his achingly hard dick that’s being rutted against.

 

To ruin this moment, Louis’ phone buzzes on the side table. He grunts in Zayn’s mouth, gently pushing his shoulders back. Zayn whines low in his throat, “Just ignore it,” he dives back in, tongue swiping over Louis’ bottom lip encouragingly.

 

“I have to –“ Zayn plants another kiss on his lips, “Zayn –“ he chuckles when the boy moves his head down to his neck to suck at the skin, “Just hold on a minute yeah?” The boy gives in at last and grumbles, sitting up straight to give him space.

 

Louis reaches across the bed to pull the phone off the surface, the screen shining bright in the dark of Zayn’s room.

 

To: Louis

From: Jay

playtime is over, come home

 

There’s no greeting or asking how everything’s going, making Louis a bit worried. “I have to go,” he nudges Zayn fully off his lap, “can I have a ride?”

 

“Everything okay?” Zayn’s concerned eyes make Louis feel even worse.

        

“Yeah,” he shrugs, “To be honest I don’t know. But I just need to head home,” Zayn doesn’t question, nodding and climbing off the bed. He switches on the desk lamp, retrieving his keys from where he put his wallet before Louis decided to pull him on the bed for a snogging session.

 

On the road Louis keeps quiet, fidgeting nervously and wondering why Jay sounded so mad over that message. Okay, he could be freaking out a bit too much over a simple text but he knows his mum. She’s usually cheekier with the matter or at least adds a smiley face. Pulling up in front of his house, Louis thanks Zayn for the day. At the last moment before he closed the car door, Zayn threw Louis a pack of fags and an extra lighter. “It’s a good stress reliever,” he said and Louis smiled timidly.

        

Walking up the front pathway, Louis knows the door would be unlocked for him and carefully turns the knob. He steps in and is greeted by Jay who’s reading a book at the dinner table. Okay – Jay never reads, that’s a bit odd. “Hey mum,” he addresses it like a question, gauging her reaction.

 

Jay sighs, folding the corner of a page to form a bookmark and settling the novel down. Finally breaking her concentration away from the table, she turns to the boy, “Where have you been?”

 

Louis frowns thoughtfully, “I told you I was with Harry,” his voice squeaks with his lie, choosing not to acknowledge it.

 

“Really now?” She raises an eyebrow, slowly standing up from the chair with her lips in a tight line, “Lou,” breaking out of her trying-to-act-like-a-strict-parent phase, her eyes land on the boy once more, “When did we start lying to each other?” Louis eyes widen with worry, “I thought we had a better relationship than that.”

 

“Mum,” his heart breaks at the expression she’s holding. Something mixed between confusion and disappointment that makes him feel like a small child under her gaze, “I didn’t –“

 

“Who were you with this whole time?” she butts in, settling herself a few feet away from her son, “And don’t you dare say Harry because I know you weren’t.”

 

His shoulders sag. He should of known not to lie to Jay – they agreed no secrets would be kept when Louis told her about his sexuality. She said she’d rather know about everything – good or bad – so nothing’s in the dark with them and they could speak without judgment.

 

Jay brusquely steps forward, yanking Louis’ sleeve up and sniffing the material, “Have you been smoking?” she spits out, harshly shoving away the arm, “Louis what did I tell you about that! Where did you –  _who were you with_?” her voice turns demanding, eyes hardening over while peering at her son.

 

“Zayn,” he whispers with his head hanging low in shame, “I swear I wasn’t planning on smoking he just offered so I said yes?” he can feel Jay’s glare without even looking her in the eye. “I’m really sorry.”

 

There’s silence when Louis’ nerves build with every moment Jay is just staring at him. “What do you call that?” she wonders aloud, making Louis pick his head up in confusion, “Oh right,” she says after a moment, looking his straight in the eye, “you’re grounded.”

 

“What?” he laughs as if she’s joking but Jay is yet to crack a smile. “Wait, you aren’t serious are you?”

 

“Indeed I am,” she nods to reassure herself more then just Louis, “No going out for a week. That’s your punishment. Now go up to your room,” she points to the stairs.

 

Louis stares at her, too shocked to move. He hasn’t been grounded since he was twelve and broke a vase in the hallway with a baseball bat – by accident of course. But  _grounded_? That’s so childish! “But –“

“No buts,” she shakes her head, still pointing to the stairs.

 

“How did you even find out?” he meekly asks, attitude turned on.

 

“Harry stopped by today looking for you,” Jay starts to walk out of the kitchen and down the hall, ignoring Louis as his mouth drops open in shock, “it was extremely awkward and for that, I expect all the dishes washed and dried by the time I’m done with my shower,” she smiles evilly and waves the boy goodbye on her way to the bathroom.  


	9. chapter viii

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Harry's a little upset.

Louis is just having one of those days everyone hates.  
  
It’s Monday, first off, and his alarm clock magically decided to shut itself off sometime during the night. He only had ten minutes to throw together an outfit consisting of jeans he’s already worn in public and an old shirt he doesn’t have time to see what it says. While he was rushing around in the kitchen, Jay comes in saying she’s caught a cold. Louis questions her, asking how long she’s had the headache and she answers since London. That made him snort, but coincidently his dark tea tipped off the counter at that same moment, and he actually screams in pain when the liquid connects with his body. “Fuck!” he scrambles to run the dishcloth underneath the faucet, whining lowly as the scorching hot shirt burns his stomach. Of course the clothes are ruined, Louis fumes as he whips the cloth on the table in frustration.   
  
“Lou,” Jay tries to covers her laugh in the best way possible, but still has to turn away to open the refrigerator, “I need you to take the girls to school,” Louis looks perplexed, motioning down to the huge stain covering from his stomach all the way down to his crotch, “I know. I know, but please? I’ll put some tea in a to-go cup and have it ready by the time you leave. The girls are brushing their teeth so they’ll be ready.”   
  
Louis groans with his head tipped back, “fine.” He collects his thoughts, rushing up the stairs and around his bedroom to gather necessary supplies. “Fuck,” he curses again, peering at the math textbook sitting on his beanbag chair. The first test for that class is today and he forgot to study this whole weekend. And that’s his first period. Usually, memorization is his key element – but not when numbers and graphs are thrown in. It’s like his mind goes blank on contact with the dreaded white paper. He completely hates anything to do with functions or whatever he’s learning in that class. At least the teacher is all right, not too strict or over bearing.   
  
Mumbling profound words under his breath, he shoves the book carelessly into his backpack along with his cheer bag for the home game today. He remembers Eleanor is hosting the first pasta party of the season tonight as well. Better bring another change of clothes, he thinks.  
  
Without thought, he slips on a different blue shirt and changes into lighter jeans as he tries to hop on one foot and evidently falls to the floor. Looking at his digit clock from ground view, he forgets to grab a jacket and climbs hastily to stand up. Storming out of the room, he bumps into a drowsy Daisy. “Come on girls! I’m late and mummy isn’t taking you,” Daisy grumbles but obediently scampers off to her shared bedroom.   
  
The two girls are down stairs as Louis finishes slipping on his shoes, Jay pushing them into raincoats with bright yellow squeaky boots. Jay hands over the promised tea and gives the girls both a banana for breakfast, gently guiding the three siblings out the door. Louis watches his sisters run ahead, backpacks bumping along with lunches clutched against their chests to hide from the water droplets falling from the sky. Louis can’t curse with his sisters around, so instead he claws his fingers into the mug, letting the rain soak his hair as he sprints to the driver’s seat.   
  
By the time Louis zooms into the senior parking lot, he’s missed homeroom and has two minutes before his math teacher shuts and locks the door for the test. He grabs his travel mug still filled with delicious tea and makes a dash for the office. His handwriting is barely legible when he signs himself in for being late, with tiny drops of water falling from his hairline, but with no time to care. Secretly stealing a pencil from the office desk, he bumps along the halls and ignores any curious stares. Lily waves to him and he nods curtly, spotting that Mr. Walter has yet to close the door – and he holds off singing for joy.   
  
As the bell rings overhead, Louis just steps through the math doors. Everyone picks his or her heads up to look at his disheveled appearance, but he just nods to Mr. Walter then moves down the aisle. The desks are separated for testing, giving Louis enough space to squeeze through to plant himself down at his desk. He slides his backpack strap down his arm, the sack hitting the floor with a light thud, and he makes himself comfortable in the plastic seat. Mr. Walter allows students to bring any types of beverages for this period, knowing that mornings could use a kick-start, so his tea is allowed.   
  
There’s silence as Mr. Walter scans the rows of students and programs the attendance into his computer. Louis leans back into the chair, both hands wrapped around the warmed mug and his eyes glued to the desk surface. He’s lost in his own world, trying to control his breathing and take this moment of relaxation from his hectic morning. “I forgot to make copies of your resource paper, I’ll be back in a minute. Just - behave.” Mr. Walter breaks his train of thought, filing out of the class with a pointed look cast among the students. With the door shut, students turn to talk or yawn with friends around them.   
  
Louis takes a slow sip of his tea, swinging his legs out towards the aisle and smiles at Harry who’s texting under the desk. “Hey you,” he starts off casual, continuing to sip but letting the beverage cool off. “I didn’t study and I have no idea what we’re even doing,” he lets the statement hang in the air, waiting for Harry to respond. But the boy doesn’t even look at him, hands and eyes set on his phone. He waits a few moments, awkwardly drumming his fingers along the mug, “Is there a reason why you’re ignoring me?” he laughs airily, not meaning for the statement to come out as rudely as it did.  
  
Harry suddenly flinches towards him, eyes clouded over, “Was there a reason you ignored me yesterday?” Louis is taken back by the question, feeling a shiver at how cold the words came out of the captain’s mouth. The room grows silent without Louis or Harry noticing, all the students furtively keened on to their conversation and why Harry sounds so angry. The small boy tenses under Harry’s vicious stare, hands clenching tightly around the neck of his mug. He hates when anyone is ever mad at him, he’s just one of people who craves likeability among their peers.  
  
And that includes being a bit of a heartbreaker to assure no one attaches to him in a ‘hey I really like you as a person and not just for your body’ sort of matter – just like Harry has been implying for the past two weeks. Louis shouldn’t feel necessarily bad about what happened yesterday, he should just challenge the boy saying it’s not actually worth his time when he could go to a club and be fucked by anyone without having to worry about a relationship.  
  
But he does feel bad.   
  
And he knows that Harry isn’t a waste of time.  
  
Harry is just trying to win his heart. His pathetic, crimpled up heart stomped on so many times Louis questions if it’s still there. If he wants to be technical, he can’t give his heart when it’s still broken and pained – Harry disserves ten thousand times better. And yes, he’s admits it. Louis finally realizes Harry is a fucking perfect god who couldn’t handle heaven so he decided to be a mortal with gorgeous features and – and Louis can’t let Harry make that stupid decision.   
  
The cheerleader rolls his eyes, situating himself facing forward again and setting the mug down. He doesn’t choose to answer, and he can’t because the teacher reappears with a stack of papers. “Everything off your desk except a pencil.” Mr. Walter eyes Louis’ tea but the boy shoots him an winning smile in return.    
  
During the test Louis doesn’t spare Harry a glance, instead staring blankly at the torturous white paper laid in front of him. That doesn’t mean he isn’t thinking about him, but he can choose not to care right now. He doesn’t have a clue how to complete these graph functions or whatever the hell they are – but the constant scratching on pencil besides him indicates Harry isn’t having any problems.   
  
After waiting ten minutes, he allows himself to turn in a blank paper, ignoring the look of disapproval Mr. Walter shoots him as he cowers back to his desk.   
  
After what seems forever, the tests are handed in and the bell rings. Louis crumples the doodle he was occupying his boredom with, making a basketball shot with an outstanding cheer when the paper ball bounces off the side into its aimed location. Girls giggle at his antics, lingering closer than usual. Louis doesn’t mind this, not at all, and strikes up a conversation with a cute girl he remembers from his foods class, even slinging an arm over her small shoulders. She blushes wildly, but doesn’t realize Louis isn’t really paying attention to her. Sure, she’s lovely and he kind of remembers the first letter of her name, but Louis can’t hear her talking over the fierce glare being sent from a certain captain. It’s almost like Harry is trying to burn a hole straight through him.   
  
Tiffany pops out of a room to his right, pushing the girl haphazardly away to squeal with excitement. “Tony asked me to the dance!” she doesn’t pay mind to the people trying to pass the two friends standing in the middle of the hallway, “He’s so romantic! Even wanted go to dinner beforehand!”   
  
Louis tries to reply with something that sounds as enthusiastic as she feels, but really he didn’t even know of this dance she’s speaking of. Dances, in Louis’ mind, are so boring and not worth the ten dollars when the whole night you just stand around avoiding actually dancing. That’s the point isn’t it? Oh but no, only couples or stupidly obnoxious girls get to unleash their inner dancer when surrounded by everyone at school. Don’t get him wrong, at bars and clubs Louis is one of those obnoxious people, but certainly not in front of everyone he has to see on a daily basis. And couples always make it worse, swaying to a love song while the people without dates have to look at the scene with dreams of being held like that. “I have to get the class, see you at the game later!”   
  
Louis snaps out of his trance, watching Tiffany scurry down the hall with a notebook hugged to her chest. He swears in the last two weeks of being at Cheshire he’s heard more of Tiffany and Tony’s past relationships – emphasis on the ‘s’ – then he’s heard his own sisters talk. It’s a never-ending whirl of drama and scandal that Louis is sucked into daily from Tiffany’s love for talking about that boy.    
  
Instead of an actual class for his second period, Louis has this elective called Computer Graphics. The teacher is really sweet, and the best part is she doesn’t care if her students show up to class until the computers are fixed. Something with the system crashed last Thursday, meaning this period has become a free study hall until further notice. That means Louis can roam around, but really there’s not much to do unless the cafeteria is open – and that’s not until two classes from now.   
  
He chooses to make a stop at the bathroom to freshen himself presentable for the rest of the day. Swinging open the third floor bathroom, he’s met with those dark green eyes. Really, it shouldn’t be a problem being in Harry’s presence, but from the interaction in the class before, he makes a move to leave. Harry’s faster than him, stepping and blocking Louis access to open the door.  This bathroom is very small – only two toilets and a urinal – and the comfortable air suddenly leaves, making Louis feel trapped under Harry’s intense gaze.   
  
“You know you really hurt me yesterday,” he starts with a hint of laughter in his tone and with a swift click of the bathroom lock, Harry crosses his arms over his chest while Louis is left to stand awkwardly in front of him, “I tried calling you but somehow you didn’t receive any of them, or just chose not to answer. I went to your house, like a stalker, but with good intentions thinking you would be home and asleep. But then your mum – very sweet lady by the way – informed me that you were supposedly with me already. Hm, that got me a bit curious.”   
  


Louis’ backpack falls to floor as he starts stepping back against the opposite wall, Harry slowly stepping forward foot by foot as he speaks. Louis is about to say something along the lines of ‘Harry stop’ but words are stuck in his throat. Harry’s voice is a mixture of raw, raspy, and fucking so sexy when he’s talking this lowly his mind can’t think straight. “So I decide to drop it, try to talk to you today to get an explanation. I wasn’t mad when I woke up believe me – I was looking forward to the football game and pasta party today. I knew there was no way you could avoid me because you’d be cheering and everything would be nice. Oh but then,” Louis’ back presses flush against the cold tile, Harry’s body frame trapping his from moving away. The cheerleader stays silent, eyes glued to the door and trying to control his fear of why Harry is cornering him in the bathroom of all places. He knows he should stop this. He knows this is so wrong for the situation at hand, but it just feels so right. 

  
“I was texting Zayn before school, you know, just to ask how his weekend was like the good friend I am. I’ve always had his back, right?” he sounds like he’s questioning himself more then Louis, “Whenever our friendship was put to the test I never let anything come between us. No relationships, no grades, no competitions in footie – nothing.”  
  
Harry’s hands place themselves on either side of Louis’ torso, petting his thumb teasingly along Louis’ soft shirt material while tipping his head to the side in thought. He looks like an adolescent who’s watching porn for the first time, deeply confused and questioning himself if he likes it or not – lip curved outward in a small pout and eyebrows furrowed together,  “I tell him everything. Nothing is kept between us and I really was counting on Zayn this morning to tell me what happened at the party Saturday. Because I woke up alone in a strange bed and thought ‘huh, I have no clue who I even was with last night but whatever’ so I went home. You ignore me and now we’re back to this morning. I asked Zayn to just give me a brief description of what happened and you know what he tells me? You were glued to me all night. Literally. All night. He told me you’re the one I supposedly slept with. And wow,” he breathes out, taking his right hand and gently gripping Louis’ chin to tip the boy’s face up. The curly haired boy automatically spots the anxiety within those baby blue orbs and laughs.   
  
“It finally clicked. You remembered that we fucked and avoided me to save the awkward talk I wasn’t even planning to have. I was prepared to just pretend the whole date thing never happened and try again – without the whole sleeping together the night before crap. I was willing myself to actually ask for a second chance but when I ask Zayn what he did Sunday – I think you know since your hands just fisted together,” Harry takes his eyes away from Louis’ face for a moment to flick down.   
  
Why is Harry making Louis shake with anticipation? It’s definitely not fear, but the way Harry is pushing him against the wall and maintaining painful eye contact makes Louis somewhat aroused to see what the captain is planning. Sure, Harry looks upset but Louis knows he’s not going to hurt him. By now Louis would have pushed the captain away, knowing not to let anything escalade beyond this kind of touching. But Harry’s dominant side is completely shining, bright enough to be seen for miles. It sparks something deep within the boy, secretly loving being handled without feeling like he’s going to break. He likes the roughness – well, he’s not sure if he likes it but it’s what he’s grown used to it the past. He hates when people are gentle with his body. And admittedly, he’s actually starting to feel like ignoring Harry yesterday wasn’t that bad of a decision after all.   
  
“When we were suppose to have our date, you decide to go hook up with my best friend,” Harry’s eyes harden over, the hand slips from Louis’ chin to wrap around his neck, the smaller boy not bending his head down when the grip on his chin is removed. Harry’s taller than him nonetheless, having to look up to be able to look clearly anyway. “Zayn fucking just said it like you were nothing – like I never told him how much I like you. And that,” Harry’s left hand moves from the wall to squeeze Louis’ hip bone, and a light sting of pain surfaces from the tight grip, “I didn’t know how to respond to that. I didn’t text him back and then you walk into math looking fucking delicious and – and I just. I tried everything with you, Louis. I tried being charming, polite, impressive, and nothing worked… I realized what you actually like.”  
  
Harry’s words stop abruptly and they hold eye contact. Louis clenches his fingers deeper into Harry’s sides, aching for something – anything. If Harry expects to just leave after all this he can –  
  
Then Harry finally closes the gap between the two boys. Louis lets out a relieved sigh, bringing his arms up to wrap around Harry’s neck to secure his hold. His back presses against cold tile beside the sinks, and Harry’s chest slots firmly with his. It feels warm at first – loving almost – how Harry grips his hips with protection and not heat. But Louis wants more – Harry’s stupid speech got his hormones flying through the ceiling and he doesn’t want soft and gentle. No, not now. Now he wants anger – the anger Harry is suppose to be unleashing on him for ditching him this weekend.   
  
Louis curls his fists tighter around Harry’s curls, tugging his face closer to pry open his mouth with his own tongue. With Harry’s mouth open he licks inside, his head bobbing slightly along as he continues to snog the captain. Harry responds with a grunt, rutting his hips on Louis’ front in encouragement. The door handle for the bathroom jiggles, for someone is trying to enter. The two boys go on as if they never heard it; their throats producing low moans and bodies moving together in sync.   
  
With a click in his mind, Harry thinks back to how hurt he felt this morning. The betrayal of his best friend, how Louis blew him over like some joke – and no one is allowed to treat Harry Styles like that. So he pushes Louis’ shoulder back to bang against the wall. Louis lets out a surprised squeak, back forcibly colliding with the tile. Before he can ask, Harry attacks his neck with kisses, biting down on the skin in the most visible areas. Louis lets himself melt under Harry’s frame, hands flying out to grip Harry’s belt loops as the captain sucks spots on his throat. He moans especially deep and loud when Harry trails his tongue down to his exposed collarbone, dipping into the spaces then blowing chilled air against them. As Harry begins to feel like his work is done, he leaves one last kiss on each love bite – four in total – and picks his head up. All he wanted when he started talking was to make sure Louis knows he’s not playing around anymore. If he wants to play this fucking around game, so be it, but any other guy who comes near Louis will know he’s basically taken.   
  
Louis doesn’t know if he should yell at Harry for leaving such noticeable marks on his skin – but why would he do that? Honestly, before that moment Harry threw him against the wall, Louis has never felt like being man handled was as hot as he does to right now. Harry was right. He’s not looking for sweet and gentle – fuck that – he loves a guy who can take charge and demand what he wants. And when their eyes meet, pupils blow with lust and chests heaving to catch air, a silent agreement was made.


	10. chapter ix

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Just a filler chapter to show how happy Louis is when Harry's around.

Louis loves his science class; all because of one big goof ball he calls Doc.   
  
The students call him Doc, short for Doctor L’Aquila, because his real last name is very hard to pronounce and ‘doctor’ is a mouthful.   
  
Doc is known for wearing the most ridiculous travel t-shirts with crazy patterns but has a tan good enough to brag. He was supposedly living in Brazil for the past two mouths over summer break and now all the girls envy his skin. The weather in Cheshire ranges from rainy to cloudy, and some sun if mother nature decides to be kind. Otherwise it’s mostly cloudy. So yeah, no one is going to be walking around the halls with a tan, unless you are Louis of course, he’s just that guy.   
  
“Hey Doc!” Louis greets the teacher with a shit eating smile across his face, with Harry’s arm tucked around his slim hips as he stops in front of the big desk planted in the front, “How was your weekend?”   
  
Doc automatically notices Harry’s arm, and chooses to ignore the fresh love bites on the smaller student’s neck, “Mine was great, got some detailing finished on the backyard,” he starts to stack tonight’s homework papers neatly on one corner of the desk.   
  
“Oh that’s awesome!” Louis nods, eyes bright like stars, “So the new house is coming along good? I’m glad. Your poor wife can’t sleep on the couch forever, now can she?” he cheekily adds a wink and Doc shakes his head and looks down.   
  
“Sit down, Louis,” the teacher laughs, playing along with Louis’ banter, “And by the way the master bedroom has been done for a week now,” and he says it completely oblivious, like a child.   
  
“Oh-la-la! Get it in, Doc!” Louis laughs obnoxiously loud and ignores Doc’s disapproving scoff, taking Harry’s hand in his and he leads the boy to their assigned lab table. The girls that sit in back of them stop whispering, staring in shock at their intertwined hands. Louis doesn’t notice, letting Harry push him against the lab counter to close him in.   
  
Leaning down to whisper in the Louis’ ear, Harry laughs breathless. “Hi,” his smile brightens the whole room, making anyone who looks at him unknowingly happier.   
  
“Hel-lo,” Louis teases back, making sure his books are set down. Harry detaches himself from the cheerleader, turning his body to lean up against the lab table. Louis starts to idly twirl his fingers, “I’m tired.”   
  
“A lot of people are,” Harry points out.   
  
“But I’m more important than those people,” he huffs in fake annoyance, and Harry elbows him from the side. He returns the shove, laughing and enjoying the company.   
  
Louis pulls away from the table a few minutes later, jogging to the teacher’s desk and flashing Doc a winning smile. He doesn’t even have to ask before Doc just waves a hand towards the door. Ever since the first day he transferred into this class, right before the bell rings, Louis goes to the bathroom. It’s like an unspoken agreement, so Louis doesn’t disrupt class in the middle to leave.   
  
Harry watches as the cheerleader sways his hips more than necessary on his departure, waits, then drops onto his stool. He pulls out his phone, and three messages pop up – all from people in this very classroom that he never talks to in public. He holds an image that he’s meant to uphold and that means no talking to the losers from secondary school. Yeah, okay technically he shouldn’t treat the friends that haven’t abandoned his side since grade one. But who can help it when he matured and they stayed in the loser group?  
  
-o-   
  
Harry and Louis don’t share global TV or gym. Instead, Harry has an extra math because his parents want him to go to an Ivy League university. That doesn’t stop him from skipping that class to hang out in the gym for some basketball.   
  
It’s not technically skipping when there’s a substitute and she doesn’t know what she’s doing.   
  
Zayn and Niall always make sure to get dressed early enough to get a private court, because if you aren’t quick enough, you’re screwed. So naturally, Harry joins them for shooting hoops.   
  
Louis hangs around with Tiffany on the bleachers, because in the first week of gym, he learned as long as you show up then you don’t have to actually do any workouts. The athletic boys tend to fill the whole gym while playing basketball so it’s not like there’s much to do.  
  
He’s been watching Harry dribble the basketball from across the court, and decides he’s bored with just sitting. Ditching Tiffany - who’s too busy listening to music – Louis strolls up behind the boy and waits for the right moment when Harry is distracted from talking to someone, then runs to snatch the basketball out of his hands. At first, Harry stares down at his hand as if the ball disappeared mid-bounce but he looks up to see Louis dribbling to the basket. Cutting his conversation with Niall, Harry sprints to the boy and attempts to steal his ball back.   
  
“Nope!” Louis hugs the ball to his chest defensively, pouting towards the boy trying to take it, “I wanna try!”  
  
“Alright,” Harry stops his antics, crossing his arms and waiting for him to shoot. Turning his attention back to the basket, Louis darts his tongue out in concentration then jumps ridiculously high, legs snapping together and he throws the ball like a toddler, missing by five feet. Harry smiles with amusement.  
  
“It’s not that easy! How about you try it, hot shot?” Louis playfully glares. Niall retrieves the ball from the corner, passing it to Harry.   
  
Making sure Louis’ gaze is trained towards him, Harry tucks in his elbows, eyes the basket and effortlessly flicks the ball with one hand through the air – ball sliding in the net with a whoosh. He turns back to Louis, smirking wildly. Louis looks defeated, “Fuck you that was a lucky shot.”   
  
Shrugging, Harry walks over to him and leans down into his ear, “Tell you what, let’s play – one on one. You win, I’ll buy you lunch. If I win… then I get to actually take you on a date.”   
  
Raising an eyebrow, Louis smiles evilly, “You got yourself a deal,” he shakes Harry’s hand in confirmation, “I could never pass up free food,”   
  
The people around them seem to know of their game, clearing the floor with one ball left in the center. Harry picks it off the ground; “You check first,” Louis – who didn’t look like he even knew how to hold a basketball a few minutes ago – took his place at the correct line, motioning for Harry to bounce the ball.   
  
With the ball, he swiftly runs around Harry, jumps up, performs a layup with one hand and drops to his feet with grace while catching the ball as it falls from the net.   
  
Harry stood at the foul line stunned into silence, along with the whole gym class watching from the bleachers. Dribbling the ball a few times, Louis passes it back to Harry with extra force, the ball shocking Harry from how hard it hit his hands. “Beginners luck I guess,” Louis smirks; taking the position Harry was in a few seconds ago and rolling up his sleeves.   
  
“You totally just hustled me,” Harry stares at the boy awestruck.   
  
Grinning wickedly Louis answers, “I’ve always loved basketball silly, just ‘cause I’m a cheerleader doesn’t mean I suck at every other sport. That’s called a stereotype and you my friend are a stereotypical person for thinking that. So come on, lets play.”   
  
Snapping back to the game, Harry checks the ball to Louis and dribbles it for a few moments while deciding a plan. Louis rolls his eyes, stepping one foot closer and smacking the ball from Harry’s grip mid-dribble. Quickly spinning towards the basket, Louis executes another layup effortlessly, “Honestly Haz I thought I had some competition with you,” He grabs the ball that bounced off the wall, passing it back to the boy who hasn’t moved an inch from the foul line.   
  
“I was letting you win,” Harry lied, tearing off his shirt to reveal a white tank top underneath, “now you’re gonna regret it.”   
  
“Bring it on,” Louis leans forward in a defensive position, waiting for Harry to make a move.   
  
The game progresses on from there. Harry gained his points back by making simple 3-point shots and Louis stuck to his layups or one time he did get a 3-pointer but Harry was better at those. A lot of times, Harry would pinch his arse to make him drop the ball in surprise and take the advantage to make a shot. Harry always received a glare and a “you’re using my bum for cheating that’s not fair!”   
  
The score was now tied with a few minutes of gym left, with Louis dribbling the ball while scooting backwards with his arse grinding into Harry. The captain reaches around his waist, hugging Louis off the ground and the basketball drops at his attempt to clutch at Harry so he wouldn’t fall. “Cheater!” he screams, flailing his legs but Harry laughs at his attempt. When he is set down, both boys went rushing towards the ball, Louis even going as far as to dive to the ground. Harry decides to lie on top of him, trapping his body to the floor. “Get off of me you bitch!” Louis wiggles under the weight, flipping on his back and wrestling with the boy. Harry manages to pin him, legs ending up straddling the smaller boy’s hips, and he smirks down at him with victory. “The score is still tied! We have to finish so I can beat your arse!”   
  
“Why can’t you just accept the fact I’m better than you?”   
  
Louis puffed out a breath, his fringe annoyingly covering his eyes but not having any hands free to move it. Harry brings one of his hands to swipe the hair out of his eyes to help. Louis stuck his tongue out and took the opportunity to throw Harry off of him with his now free hand. Harry lands with a thump next to him. Louis springs off the ground, dribbling the ball to the basket, and makes it in with ease. “Ha!” the end-of-gym-buzzer sounded, “I win! Loser gives the winner a piggy back ride to lunch!”   
  
Harry dejectedly turns towards the door, holding his arms back and Louis takes that as an invitation to jump on his back. With a little hop, Louis wraps his legs around Harry’s wide hips and secures an arm around his neck.   
  
He lets the boy carry him out to the hallways, ignoring the weird looks he receives and wrapping his legs tighter around Harry’s waist. Really, he should feel like a child when being carried around everywhere but he has the right, he won after all!   
  
Once in the cafeteria, Louis doesn’t have to think twice before sitting with Harry. Well, not sit with Harry, but preferring his lap instead. No one questions why the two boys suddenly act like they love each other. No one dare questions why Louis is laughing so loudly when Harry so much as smiles or when Harry’s hands drift down Louis’ legs.   
  
Really, it’s obvious.   
  
But Niall loves making people laugh, so when Harry and Louis aren’t looking, he makes funny faces towards the two.   
  
Everyone at the table barks with laughter, Eleanor accidentally spilling her water and Claire right next to her to help the captain wipe it up.   
  
Louis notices and giggles with everyone, shifting on Harry’s lap so his legs dangle over the side of the chair with his side pressed against the boy’s torso. With a quick scan over the cafeteria, Louis sighs sadly when he notices Liam sitting by himself again with his phone in hand – just like the first day.   
  
The table picks up on conversation again with the attention shifted away from him, and Louis leans into Harry’s ear to whisper, “Can we invite Liam to sit with us?” he pulls back to study Harry’s expression that suddenly dawns cold.   
  
“Why should we?” Harry’s eyes are hardened over with anger and accusation, looking over to Liam as well.  
  
“He’s my friend,” Louis defends weakly, shoving Harry’s shoulder a bit. When the captain laughs at his pouted lips, Louis wrinkles his nose in thought. “What ever did happen between him and the football team? Whenever I bring it up he always gets really sad, or angry, depending on the day.”   
  
Harry shrugs noncommittally, trying to distract himself by turning his attention away from his cheerleader to laugh at some comment Niall just made. Louis bites his bottom lip with worry, picking up there’s something both of his friends aren’t telling him.  
  
Just then, the loud speaker booms over the cafeteria, and a familiar voice of the school’s secretary starts to speak, “Attention. Attention all students. The regularly scheduled football game today at home – has been cancelled due to the weather.” Everyone looks out the lunchroom windows to see rain pounding down and winces when a clap of lightening follows, “All practices have been cancelled as well, excluding volleyball that will be held in the gym. Thank you,” and the voice stops.   
  
All the football players begin to whoop and cheer, excited for no sort of practice and receiving a day off. Harry grumbles miserably. “This shit weather is going to be the reason we’re not ready for championships.”   
  
“Hey,” Louis pokes Harry’s cheek playfully, “Be happy! Everyone needs a day off every once and a while. Besides,” Louis leans forward so their noses are brushing, “It gives us more time to –“   
  
“Don’t start snogging I’m trying to fuckin’ eat!” Niall warns them from across the table, a sandwich placed in his hands.   
  
Louis shoots Niall a pointed look, then turning to shove his tongue down Harry’s throat. The captain responds immediately, hands wrapping around Louis’ awkwardly shifted hips and opening his mouth obediently wider. Louis adds extra flame to the fire by moaning into the snog, making sure the suction of lip and tongue is loud enough to be heard where Niall is seated.   
  
When the two boys separate, Niall has left with half the table deserted and Louis laughs. “We’ll just see him at the pasta party, then?” Harry nods with a yes, and they talk about nonsense for the rest of lunch.   
  
-o-   
  
It’s later, right before the last bell rings, when Louis texts his mom about his plans for the night.   
  
  
  
And another lie is out in the open. Well, half lie, he is going to be at Eleanor’s until an unknown time for the pasta party.   
  
Turns out, Eleanor’s house is gigantic. A simple three-story layout but it stretches on forever with never ending hallways and an endless amount of rooms. Her driveway is crowded with cars by the time Louis pulls up. It’s still fairly early, only about five – which Louis has occupied the time by completing his homework at the library – and this is his first traditional pasta party as a cheerleader.   
  
He wonders as he swings his driver’s seat door open how everything is set up. Pasta party… that implies some type of food is involved. Was he supposed to bring something to share? Maybe brownies? No, he sucks at anything involving a kitchen.   
  
So with a smile, he knocks on the door. More cars pull up on the street as he waits, with boatloads of JV cheerleaders piling out and laughing too high pitched. There’s a group of freshman that look terrified to be here, hesitantly walking up the set pathway and careful to not walk on the perfectly cut grass.   
  
The door opening interrupts his staring, and Eleanor is on the other side, smiling widely with her signature cheering bow tied on top of her head, “Yay! More people!” she greets, with obvious signs she’s been drinking, and gestures everyone in. “Welcome to the first Pasta Party of the year! Wooo! Just help yourself to anything and leave whenever you want, it’s literally a free for all.” She laughs, motioning to the kitchen.   
  
Louis follows his nose towards the delicious smell, his feet landing himself in a wide kitchen with dozens of pans of food spread out. There’s a pile of plates neatly stacked at the beginning of the buffet, accompanied with plastic utensils. Niall is on the pasta line, laughing brightly with Zayn as he dumps a spoon of baked ziti on his already over stuffed plate. There’s a bunch of others, footie players and cheerleaders of both rankings, talking and eating together. It honestly makes Louis’ heart warm that the JV players are here as well, instead of just Varsity. The freshman and juniors, well some of them at least, aren’t half bad if you give them a chance.   
  
Harry comes out of a door, which appears to be a bathroom, notices Louis, and brightens. “Hey!” and there’s something about how his pupils are dilated to signal Louis that there is indeed alcohol being served somewhere.   
  
“Hey yourself,” Louis replies with the over used greeting, looking around and taking in everything, “This house is really nice. Does everyone in Cheshire own mansions?”   
  
“Only the selected few,” Harry winks, pulling Louis’ wrist over to the plates, “I was waiting for you to serve myself –“   
  
“Well aren’t you a gentleman –“   
  
Harry rolls his eyes and continues, “– but I got thirsty and ended up drinking with Eleanor and them before you came.”   
  
Louis places a hand over his heart in shock, “You drank without my presence? And where is my beer?”

“We can’t with the –“ Harry jabs a finger in the direction of a huge group of JV players, “freshies around. Might rat us out. But when they leave, and that should be in like twenty minutes, the actual party starts.”   
  
“Good,” Louis nods with approval while picking up a plate and fork to pile his plate.


	11. chapter x

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> bow chicka wow wow

The walls are painted bright pink with pictures of manicured nails on every surface. Assorted magazines scatter around the massage chairs, and that's what Louis chooses to occupy his time with.

Tiffany has managed to drag him to her local nail salon for some company. Eleanor couldn't make it this time, because ‘she's too busy having sex with Antonio these days to be my best friend’.

When Louis and Tiffany come strolling through the front doors, there’s a lady sitting behind the front desk with a polite smile across her face.. “You get nails done?” The Chinese lady points straight towards him, and his eyes widen. He looks to Tiffany with knitted eyebrows, obviously confused but soon realizes what the woman meant.

He muffles a laugh, bringing a hand up to cover his mouth but his body shakes with his laughter. He takes a deep breath, smiling sweetly and saying, “I’m a boy, lady.” Tiffany giggles high pitched, catching the attention of everyone in the salon.

“I knew that,” the lady glares with her overly made up eyes and obnoxiously long nails, “Too flat chested to be girl, anyway.” She motions to his torso, and Louis momentarily freezes. But with a second to understand what she just implied, he bursts out laughing. The lady smiles with the two laughing teenagers, “Boys get nails done all the time. Clear coat to help make feel clean.”

“Trisha he doesn’t want his nails done,” Tiffany stops giggling, looking towards Louis with an amused smile, “Louis this is Trisha, Trisha meet Louis. When I first came here this lady tried to tell me I was too poor to afford her prices and I asked her if this was a strip club – we’ve loved each other ever since.”

Trisha bites the inside of her cheek, “Oh yes, I remember.” With a wave of her hand, the two friends follow her to the pedicure chairs. Tiffany hops into a massage chair, wiggles her shoes off to get comfortable. Louis follows suit, instead leaving on his shoes. “What the occasion?”

“School dance,” Tiffany supplies as she plucks the TV remote from the side table and flicks through the channels. She bites her bottom lip, and ultimately chooses MTV because Ridiculousness is the best show created.

“Oh, that sounds fun!” Trisha chirps.

 

“Barely,” Louis rolls his eyes, “Dances are for secondary school. Why are we going again?” he tilts his head to the side to look at Tiffany.

“Because all captains from each sport have to attend. Cheerleading is a sport. I’m a co-captain. And you call me the dumb one.”

“Oh shut up I didn’t know that, don’t flatter yourself,” he narrows his eyes at her judgingly, “Need I remind you, today you thought Abraham Lincoln was a scientist. I’m not even American and I feel offended.” Tiffany sighs next to him. Louis is one of those people that, if he isn’t happy or thinks something is funny, everyone else doesn’t get to enjoy it because he needs everything revolved around him. That means if he’s in a sassy mood, whoever chooses to fight him gets his bitch side. Tiffany, being they’ve been friends for weeks, doesn’t care at this point of their friendship.

Trisha bends down to turn the water knob, filling Tiffany’s footbath with bubbles and positions a towel in front of her toes, “You two go together as date?”

“No,” they cringe at the same time, looking at each other with disgust, “I’m still with Tony, Trisha, I thought I informed you of this.” Tiffany adds a giggle for good measure. “I mean, do you really think I’ve dropped my standards  _that_  low –“

Louis reaches across the chair and smacks her on the arm, “ _You_  are the one I would have to drop  _my_  standards for. If I tried to count how many guys you’ve slept with in our school with my fingers I would need ten more hands!”

“ _Oh_  like  _you_  haven’t done the same thing at all the clubs you’ve been to over the summer. Do you not remember telling me about that?”

“Tiffany, you  _do_  realize you and Tony aren’t even properly dating, yeah? He calls you up whenever he’s bored then doesn’t talk to you for a week. I don’t understand why you’re still bothering with him.”

“You can’t even talk!” she points her finger towards the boy, “You and Harry are the same exact thing!”

“He – I – How does he  _remotely_  relate to this?” he laughs breathless, stealing the TV remote to turn the volume up to try to tune her out.

“Don’t even get me started!” she’s not yelling, just stating her opinion in a not-so-quiet manner so he can hear her, “He has you wrapped around his little finger. On Monday you were practically groping each other in gym, then at Wednesday’s home game you were snogging so hard I thought your nose was going to break. Now what day is it? Friday? And he hasn’t even texted you since Wednesday night!”

Louis pushes a random massage setting on the control panel, letting the vibrations send soothing sensations up his spine. “Have you forgotten I talk to him every day? We share, like, everything together! Who cares if he doesn’t text me?” he slides out his phone from its pocket, scowling at the blank screen.

“Obviously you do!” Tiffany shakes her head exasperated. “You’ve been waiting for Harry to ask you to the dance all day and he  _hasn’t_. And he’s not going to. You know why? Because you, my friend, have your very own Tony.”

“He’s not like that,” Louis weakly defends, “And I’m  _not_  waiting for him to ask me.”

“Then why do you keep checking your phone every five minutes?” Tiffany smirks, obviously pleased how she’s making Louis crack.   

“Because I’m not a loser and I actually have other friends to text unlike you,” he mumbles while scrolling through Facebook, ignoring Tiffany’s defensive come back.

There’s laughing from in front of the two, and they both turn to see Trisha silently chuckling while adding a new coat of paint to Tiffany’s big toe. “You guys real funny. Should have own talk show. Be next Chatty Man.”

Louis and Tiffany lock eyes and smile. They really were meant to be friends.

“Fine,” Louis sighs a moment later and crosses his arms, “fine. I admit it. I want Harry to ask me. But only because everyone has a date but me, and that’s not okay.” He looks at her with a dejected pout, “How am I suppose to show up without someone?” Of course, he could always ask Zayn or Niall, but he doesn’t ask he  _gets_  asked.

“You know…” Tiffany picks up a random magazine and starts to flip through the first few pages, “I think I have a way that you could make Harry jealous.”

“I don’t care about –“ Louis stops flipping through his own magazine, hesitantly looking over to the girl, “Jealous?” The idea sparks millions of fireworks in his head, “How?”

Tiffany smiles wickedly.

-o-

“Absolutely not!”

Tiffany huffs, looking towards a group of boys in the center of the dance. They’re all very tall and hot – yes, she can call them hot even if they’re freshman. She knows half of them from the JV footie team and she’s currently trying to talk Louis into going up to a guy named Brandon. “But he likes you! And I heard he’s going to ask you to dance anyway.”

“I’m not flirting with a  _freshman_! I don’t care if Harry I make jealous anymore! At this point I’d quite frankly prefer to just leave. This dance is bloody boring!” he crosses his arms, shooting a quick look to Harry’s group in the opposite corner of the gym. Harry laughs when Zayn whispers in his ear, and Louis wants to growl.

“Lou, I’m trying to  _help_  you with this situation. It’s not like you have to fuck him! Just dance with him once and make sure Harry sees. And! I know for a fact Harry hates Brandon.”

Louis flinches his head towards her, squinting his eyes, “What? Why?”

Tiffany looks around to make sure no one is listening to their conversation, “Don’t tell anyone this,” she drops her voice to a whisper, “Harry gets really competitive when it comes to football. He  _has_  to be the best and if someone is better than him then it’s practically game over for them. Brandon, I saw him playing, he’s better than most people on Varsity. But Harry was scared he’d become the star athlete so he purposely put Brandon on JV to make sure he stays at the top.”

“ _Really_?” Louis asks incredulously, looking at Harry who still fails to notice his presence, “That’s horrible.”

“So if you go up to Brandon and start flirting with him then I bet Harry –“

“I can’t just go up to a  _freshman_  and ask him to dance,” he whispers with a hint of annoyance that his friend doesn’t understand, “That makes me sound desperate – especially if he’s, like, 12 – and I’m  _not_.”

“He’s 15,” she corrects him, “And 5’ 11”. He’s taller than Harry! I  _know_  you like tall guys.”

 “Yeah – when they have tattoos and a car.  _Not_  when they haven’t even hit puberty yet!”

The beats of Chris Brown drop from the speakers, instead the room fills with the DJ’s voice, “I’m slowing it down for a bit.” A new country song starts playing. Louis recognizes it but can’t remember the artist – something with an H.

All the couples travel to the center, wrapping arms around each other and nudging together. Tiffany flattens her lips, giving Louis an encouraging nod towards Brandon before skipping off to find Tony.

Louis breathes deeply, really considering ditching the girl all together in favor of his empty house – because Jay took the twins to a birthday party – but there’s a tap on his shoulder. He spins on his heels away from the wall to see who appears to be Brandon smiling hesitantly at him. Louis raises his eyebrows in surprise. Brandon isn’t half bad looking – he has bright baby blue eyes with dirty blonde hair that’s long and sweeps across his forehead. Tiffany wasn’t lying, he’s tall – only an inch taller than Harry though – and Louis has to tip his head up to focus on his face.

“Would you – uh – want to dance?” he makes awkward hand gestures in the direction of the crowd of couples and Louis wants to eat him up he’s so cute.

Louis’s about to make a sarcastic comment on how they don’t even know each other, but his eyes flick over to Harry.

 _Bingo_.

The captain complete ignores Niall as he intently stares straight back at Louis. He’s watching – waiting to see if Louis will say yes to Brandon. The pure darkness of his eyes could be seen a mile away.

Louis smirks.

“Sure,” he beams towards Brandon, slipping his hand in the freshman’s much bigger one and tugging him into the crowd. The song starts to play the chorus, and Louis lets Brandon wrap his arms around his waist. He complies by bringing his hands up to the boy’s neck, letting his body relax to the slow rhythm.

“So I heard you have a crush on me,” Louis goes on his tippy toes to whisper into Brandon’s ear, letting his lips teasingly brush the soft skin of the boy’s neck. “That’s cute.”

 Brandon blushes without Louis seeing, ducking his head lower to let the cheerleader whisper more easily. “Uh,” he laughs nervously, “Well you’re really fit. And funny, I guess, I don’t really talk to you but you make people laugh all the time from what I can see.”

“Do I have a  _stalker_?” Louis smiles.

“No!” Brandon swiftly answers, “No, I – I didn’t mean it like that –“

“ _Relax_ , love.” Louis laughs lightly and twirls his fingers in Brandon’s blonde hair, “I’m only joking.” He presses closer so their chests are fully pressed together, and continues to sway with the song. He enjoys the innocence of Brandon – like how he refuses to dip his hands below Louis’ waist like a gentleman, even though he’s had way more then  _just_  hands down there.

Someone clears their throat besides the two, and Louis shakes his head, already knowing who it is without even having to look.

Brandon peers over to Harry, who is surprisingly alone, but the captain stares at him hard enough to make his bones shiver. “Leave,” is all the captain says before Brandon quickly releases Louis’ waist, muttering something to the cheerleader before briskly walking away.

Louis calls after Brandon as he rushes the other way, watching him retreat to a different part of the gym. Turning his attention to Harry, he narrows his eyes. "Was that really necessary?"

The captain leans closer to Louis' face, his bright green eyes hardened over with envy and his lips set in a tight line. "I know what you’re doing," his voice is deeper than usual, "and I suggest you stop.”

Louis pouts his bottom lip out with fake innocence,  "I don’t know what you’re talking about."

Chuckling lowly, Harry responds, "You’re trying to make me jealous so I could see what I was missing by not asking you to be my date and you picked Brandon because you know I hate him.”

Louis crosses his arms and glares at the boy, "Not everything is revolved around you, Harry. Brandon’s hot. So I don’t care if  _you_  hate him, because he likes me.”

“Did you forget what I told you Monday?” Harry glares right back, getting fed up with Louis’ attitude, “You’re mine.” With that, he dives in and fiercely kisses the smaller boy, cupping his cheek and prying Louis’ lips open with his tongue. Louis smiles into the kiss, wrapping his hands around Harry’s neck to pull at his curls. Harry brings his hands down to his arse, sliding both palms into his back pockets and squeezing.  The cheerleader gasps into his mouth, but lets Harry grope him in front of everyone – loving the rough feeling.

“I think,” Harry pulls away with a thin line of salvia connected to Louis’ lip, “you deserve some punishment for that little stunt tonight.”

The words go straight to his now half hard dick, and Louis nods wordless. Harry smirks at his reaction, peering down their bodies to see Louis’ dick partly outlined with his skinny jeans. “You like the sound of that?” Harry whispers, earning another nod. “You want my cock? Is that it?” Louis whines lowly, scraping his fingers into Harry’s scalp.

“Then I think we should get out of here.”

-o-

They’re tangled together on Louis’ couch twenty minutes later, dance forgotten. Louis lies on top of Harry, grinding filthy down into his crotch. “Let’s move this –“ Harry pants from underneath Louis, loving the feeling of how the cheerleader sucks on his collarbone.

Louis nods frantically, “yeah, yeah,” before he could think about it, literally jumping from the couch and running towards his room.

The cheerleader hurriedly opens his bedside drawer and throws the lube and condoms aside. Louis stumbles back against the bed, knees knocking the edge frame, and he grips Harry’s shoulders to pull the captain down. They kiss heatedly in a tangle of limbs and tongue, and their clothes removed with no care.

Harry can’t stop feeling Louis’ body under his fingers, hands gliding down his dips of shoulder blades and curves of chest. He’s making animal like noises – whimpers mostly – and both boys flush with need.

Some time in the grinding and snogging, Harry breaks away to pop the lube bottle open, and Louis smirks while watching him.

“Always prepared,” Harry winks, slicking up two fingers. Louis’ mind is blown away with the idea of those fingers stretching him open. And when Harry starts to tease his clenching hole, Louis lets himself relax when a finger starts to ease inside. It’s really been too long, and Louis misses this feeling.

Another finger is added and the two start to scissor his hole, teasingly slow but careful, and Louis whines for them to be replaced with Harry’s thick cock. He wants to moan Harry's name so loud it can be heard all the way down the street. He  _wantswantswants_  and he can have all of that if Harry would just stop being a dick about it and shove his _actual_  dick inside him already.    

He rocks himself onto Harry's fingers, wiggling his hips with little mewls crawling out of his throat – getting more and more desperate. Harry's free hand gropes his arse cheek and it’s honestly driving him insane with pure hunger. If he had a mirror - and that would be sexy as hell if he had one right above him so he could watch Harry fuck into him - he would probably just gag on how lust ridden his face looks.

But he'd prefer to gag on a dick that should be inside him right now.

"I’m ready," he chants the words into Harry's hair, squeezing around Harry's fingers that continually jab into his bundle of nerves, "I’m ready,  _fuck,_  I need you."

"You get my cock when I think you deserve it," Harry whispers filthy in his ear, enjoying how Louis moans when he twists and crooks his fingers, "you want your arse filled up? How about I fuck you with no lube huh? Make you take me and not walk for  _days_. How does that sound?" The words are like a chocolate fountain, pouring deliciously from Harry's sinful mouth and makes Louis' dick throb so much it  _hurts_.

"Fuck yeah Harry I want you to rip me open," Louis' toes curl with the assault on his prostate, "I want your fat cock inside me, rocking me until I can’t breathe -" the warmth spreads through his spine, and he doesn't want to come yet - not now - he wants dick in his arse first. "H-harry I’m gonna – "

The fingers are removed from his hole and he whimpers. He  _needs_  something, like,  _now_.      

He faintly hears Harry fumbling with the condom wrapper over his own pleasure clogged ears.

"Harry," he whines, and Harry is back in between his legs, "I want it. I want it. Give it to me -" the tip of Harry’s cock nudges his hole and he seriously will explode if it doesn't start pounding into him, like,  _right_   _now_  "dammit," the breath is taken from him, and he gasps when it finally breaches his entrance. "Nuhh," he tries to say something, but he’s too blissed out at the feeling to form coherent words.

Harry hooks Louis' legs secure on his shoulder, pushing in gently to have Louis get used to his size. Because, he has to admit, he has a pretty great cock.

He makes up for the silence by attaching their lips, it’s all teeth and tongue but Harry doesn’t even care. Louis pants into the kiss and lets Harry’s tongue do what he pleases. It’s a good distraction from how fucking _good_  everything feels. But why would he want a distraction? Who cares, he can’t think straight at this moment. And fuck, he hasn’t had a good shag in weeks and this is the best he could ask for. "Give it to me Harry,  _fuck_. You feel so good,"

Harry's hips brush fully against Louis' arse, balls deep, and both boys adjust. "Your arse feels amazing," Harry moans as Louis clenches around him, "so fucking huge. After I’m done with you I’m gonna eat you out until you’re begging for round two like the whore you are. Just  _begging_  for me to fuck you again and you’re gonna be a little bitch and take everything I give you."

"S-shit" Louis chokes on Harry's words, fingernails digging into the boy's shoulders, "shit Harry  _move_." He doesn’t have time to care about what Harry just said.

Harry controls himself, easing into a steady rhythm as he begins to rock his hips. "Fuck me Harry I want it. I  _need_  it. Harder  _harder_ " Louis babbles, lost at the stretch and burn of Harry starting to really  _thrust_  inside him. "Fuck me harder,  _harder ohh._ "

Harry changes his angle, hitting his prostate straight on and Louis moans and screams in pleasure, the mixture coming out to be the sexiest thing Harry's ever heard. He listens to Louis as he pounds into him, breathing hard and completely  _wrecked_. He loves the control and how Louis just takes it. The last time this happened he couldn’t even remember it, and now he’s fucking Louis into oblivion and Louis is an absolute mess beneath him and he’s sorry for himself he forgets the first time.

"So good," Louis gasps. The two boys lock gazes in a moment of heat, pupils blown beyond normal with the color of their eyes intensified. His forehead beads with sweat and his dick flops slightly, abandoned between them, and he desperately wants to touch himself but, really, he thinks he can get off on the sounds Harry's making. "So so good. Deeper. Deeper  _deeper_! I need it deeper. fuck  _fuCK_ ," his voice involuntarily goes up to a high pitch whine.

"Do you think you it’s okay to grind up on some freshman right in front of me? I’ll fuck you in front of all of them, I don’t care who sees, make them watch you fall apart and how you beg for  _me_ ," Harry drives deeper with his last word, making Louis cry out "no one fucking makes you scream like me, say it. Say I’m the best cock you ever had,"

"You- you’re" Louis is just a fucking _mess_  - no - that can’t even describe how he feels.

"Say it" Harry growls like an animal, snapping his hips so fast and firm the headboard is bangs against the wall and all of it just so  _hot_  Louis thinks he’s literally melting.

"You’re the best cock I e-ever had" he doesn’t even try to fight it, knowing this is what Harry wants. "biggest cock" okay, that’s a lie but whatever "fills me so fucking good, I love it. So big, so fucking  _big_ " he continues to praise Harry.

Harry mercifully fucks his arse so hard Louis starts to feel his arse cheeks go numb, "I love it. I love your cock. So -  _oh_   _fuck_  – I don’t think – I can’t last," he hiccups, not wanting this to end.

"So perfect," Harry mumbles, biting Louis’ neck and continuing to pound into him, "You’re gonna feel my dick for  _days_  and when you try to sit down tomorrow you’re gonna think about how I took you and you  _loved_  every minute of it. Maybe Monday I’ll fuck you in the showers, or how about right on the practice field, yeah? In those dirty shorts you try to tease me with, you deserve punishment you know that? I’ll make sure you get taught a fucking  _lesson_." Louis seriously can’t take anymore - well of course he technically  _can_  - but Harry's words are just so  _hot_  he can’t hold back, and a shudder rolls through him. He silently comes across his chest – so  _done_. He falls back against the bed, letting Harry fuck him so he could get off.

Harry watches Louis fall limp underneath him, growling lowly, “Did I say you could come?” Louis shakes his head, whining when Harry pulls out, tearing the condom off and tugging desperately at his own cock. Louis looks up at him with glassed over, blissed out eyes with his thin pink lips swollen and parted slightly to breathe. But Louis doesn’t have anytime to say anything more before Harry shoves the tip of his cock into his mouth, “Suck it,” he commands.

 Louis’ arms feel like jello but he manages to bring a hand up to wrap around Harry’s base, but the captain slaps his hand away. “I’m gonna fuck your face,” and that’s all the warning Louis gets before Harry starts to thrust sloppily into his mouth. He gags slightly, trying to relax his throat to take more. He loves the taste of precome in the back of his throat. “Next time you wait until I come,” Harry grunts, clawing his fingers into Louis’ hair, holding his head still as he fucks into him. Louis moans around him, making vibrations spark up his spine. “Fuck,  _fuck_  your mouth is amazing.” Harry’s body starts to tense and he pulls out of Louis’ mouth with a wet ‘pop’.       

Louis widens his mouth and sticking his tongue out, knowing what’s coming next. That’s pretty much it – and Harry holds the base of his cock and moans with his head tipped back. His come streaks across Louis’ tongue, painting white across the boy’s cheeks and eyelashes but he loves it and swallows when Harry pulls away. Louis smiles lazily, poking his tongue out to try to manually lick off anywhere Harry missed, but too lazy to wipe it off entirely.

Louis scoots down on the bed, letting the pillow swallow his skull and catching his breathe. Harry falls next to him, and both boys let their heart beat even out. Louis tilts his head to the side; smile growing painfully bigger when their eyes meet.

He’ll have to thank Tiffany later.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this has been edited:) i hope its ok..


	12. chapter xi

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> cheerleaders' first away game @ London

"Guys! Guys! Guess what!"

 

All cheerleaders stop stretching, greeting the overly excited captain as she drops her bag with a smile stretching to each ear.

 

Tiffany stares at the girl from where she's perfecting her spilt, "What?"

        

Eleanor pauses to look around the group, with JV and Varsity included for Monday practices. "Where's Louis?" All heads spin 360 to check for the boy, but notice he's not there. The captain sighs knowingly, "Has anyone seen him?"

 

"He was in last period," Tiffany supplies, extending a hand to a random girl to help her off the ground. She walks over to Eleanor, "Did you see him when you came out of the locker room?”

 

“You know what it doesn’t matter!” Eleanor claps her hands, obviously annoyed, but too excited to worry as much, “We just got approved!”

 

All girls tilt their heads to the side in confusion, “Approved?”

 

“Well, as you may have noticed, we’ve only cheered at home games. But the principal just approved that we can start traveling with the guys!” Eleanor smiles proudly, “So that means we get our own bus and we stand on the sidelines with the footie players. And, except Fridays like always, JV can come too!”

 

Everyone cheers with her words. They turn to speak to their friends in rushed sentences, half loving the idea and the other half worrying. Other schools around Britain aren’t – as one might put it – “accepting” like Cheshire. Cheshire is known for it’s student body being bisexual or the boys at least gay, and that doesn’t always fly in other towns. Those towns are known for drugs and random killing, which would scare  _anyone_  really, but when they have a reason to hate Cheshire it doesn’t make anyone safer.  

 

“Okay!” Eleanor calls for the girls to quiet down, “I know, I know I’m very excited for this too, but it’s not that simple. We have to learn a whole new dance and rearrange the cheers so they fit each opposing team.” They all groan, “Sorry,” she shrugs half-heartedly, “That’s what you signed up for. Let’s get to work because the first away game is in  _two days_. So on Wednesday I expect you all to be ready –“

 

There’s a loud thud, a giggle, and the sounds of feet running on pavement. Harry runs to the right towards his team that’s waiting for him, and Louis hurriedly runs left while pulling down his shirt and slipping on his sneakers. He manages to hop over to the group of cheerleaders without falling, but his hair is wild and lips swollen. He swipes a thumb across his bottom lip, peering up to his team with an innocent look. “What?”

 

Tiffany smiles as if she’s holding a laugh, motioning to his face, “Missed a little cum on your cheek, sweetie.”

 

Louis’ eyes go wide like saucers, and with one quick swipe, he wipes his cheek. His face flushes when the team starts giggling.

 

-o-

        

Wednesday morning comes and Louis is mentally screaming as he packs his cheering bag. An  _away_  game – how could this day be anymore terrifying? Well, technically the game will be when it’s dark outside but there’s going to be bright lights shining down on the field and have you  _seen_  what Louis has to wear? He’s perfectly happy with strutting around his  _own_  school in his uniform but not with a whole different town with a whole new audience that will laugh at him – he knows it. Sure, he always gets nervous like this in front of new crowds but could you blame him?

 

He’s just normal.

 

Jay hugs him extra tight before he departs, wishing him the best of luck and not to worry. He shouldn’t worry about anything, he knows, but it doesn’t stop the fear in the back of his mind.

 

Harry knows all about his worries for today. Louis stayed up until at least midnight texting and ranting to the boy about how he’s going to mess up and everything will be a disaster. Harry reassured him with a lot of cute smiley faces and encouraging words. He says that away games are the same exact thing as home but with a different snack stand.  _when the game starts just bloke out the bleachers_ Harry said. Yeah, that’s easy for the football players to say,  _they_  are concentrated on kicking a ball into a net the whole time!

 

Louis makes it through homeroom not talking to anyone with the excuse of being tired. He still sits with Zayn and Niall, but chooses to just listen on their conversation instead of participating.

 

There’s an announcement that the dance raised about 800 dollars for the senior class trip but Louis doesn’t hear the last part.

 

He strolls through the math doors in hope for Harry to wrap an arm around his shoulders like he does with he’s nervous, but the captain isn’t in his seat. Louis frowns, sitting in his assigned seat and asking Jen when she comes in if she’s seen him. Just then, there’s a buzzing from his pocket, and he ignores the girl’s answer to check his phone.

 

 

 

Louis swears if Harry didn’t have such an impressive cock, he would think he was a girl from how the boy texts.

 

 

The teacher calls everyone’s attention to the board, and Louis tucks his phone away. Ten minutes later, Harry wanders into the class balancing two medium cups and a pass from the office for being late.

 

“Whoa! Whoa you went to Starbucks and didn’t get us anything! Traitor!” Jeffery accuses loudly, making everyone agree that it’s not fair. Harry simply shrugs, walking back to his seat.

 

Louis brightens when Harry passes him his latte, whispering a quick “thanks babe” before continuing to copy the notes. Harry, as Louis predicted, throws an arm over his shoulder. (They made a deal that Harry doesn’t have to write down anything and Louis would just give him the notes to copy later.) So naturally, Louis settles against him with Harry sipping his coffee.

 

Mr. Walter plays a video that’s supposed to “help improve your comprehension” but it looks like something for kindergartners.

 

Harry feels warm pressed up against his side, and Louis cradles his cup in his hands whilst snuggling back into the boy. This – he could get used to this.

 

“So I was thinking,” Harry leans his head a bit down to whisper into Louis’ ear, “today we could go out for lunch.” Louis lets his head fall back against the boy’s shoulder to look into his eyes with a questioning gaze.

 

“Is there anywhere to go?” Mr. Walter shushes them from his desk, and Louis lowers his voice, “Like, do we walk or drive?”

        

“Drive,” Harry sips at his cup, “Everything’s too far away to walk. That’s why most people just stay in.”

 

Louis considers this with thin lips, “Alright,” he smiles wide, “sounds good. Where are we going?”

 

“We’ll pick when we go.”

 

Harry takes a breath, looking out the window to see clouds forming. Louis turns to focus on the video, and after a few minutes he shuts his eyes from exhaustion. He stayed up pretty late, not really, but mornings aren’t his time of day. The captain finishes his coffee and notices Louis’ empty cup resting on the desk. Carefully, Harry collects both cups and slips out from behind Louis. The boy slumps forwards with his absence.

 

As the cups fall into the trash, a piece of crumpled paper hits his shoulder. He peers up with eyebrows drawn together to see Jeremy motioning him to open the paper. With an eye roll (who does notes these days) Harry bends down and unfolds it.

 

_youre so whipped_

 

Biting back a smile, Harry looks at Jeremy who makes a whipped sound then at the half sleeping cheerleader.

 

Yeah, yeah he is.

 

The rest of the day, Louis struts around in Harry’s Varsity jacket. It’s way too big on his slim frame, but Harry likes how it looks. It’s like a public claim on the cheerleader – and with any relationship, really. Once they start wearing each other’s clothes, it’s basically official to everyone else.

 

But Louis doesn’t think this. He thinks it’s a casual thing wearing another guy’s clothing without everyone thinking _something’s_  going on. Well, obviously, after half the school watched Harry grope then disappear with Louis on Friday then they have a perfect reason to think they’re exclusive.

        

But nope, that’s not how it works with Louis.

 

-o-

 

Two buses leave at 5 that afternoon filled with JV and Varsity of both the football and cheering team. Everyone’s fairly quiet, mainly with nerves, because London Private is one of the hardest teams of their division. So far, the football team is undefeated with mostly home games with a few away. Harry plans on keeping it that way, but he isn’t the only one on this team, it’s all on his players and how they cooperate together.

 

Right before they were all scheduled to leave for the game, Louis and Harry end up going to Burger King to get some food for the bus ride. Louis refused to eat anything with more grease than a car and Harry wouldn’t let him get just a salad. After an intense stare down in front of the cashier, Louis sighed and settled on fries with a chicken wrap. Harry got an extra large fry for them to share – and Louis rolled his eyes at the idea of sharing like a couple – but ends up eating half of them.

 

Louis spoons with Harry in a 2-seater whilst sharing one set of headphones. Their food is on his lap, “Do you know the French teacher?” Louis asks as he unwrapped his chicken wrap.

 

“Yeah, what about her?” Harry ordered, of course, two double whoppers. What’s up with Cheshire boys and obsession with burgers?

 

“So I was walking in the hall on the way to computer graphics with my headphones in and she yells at me to ‘halt’. She actually said that. And she comes up to me and creepily touches my shoulder and she’s like ‘you  _do_  know I could write you up for having your phone out, right?’ And she actually starting  _reaching_  for my phone like she was gonna take it and I was like, um, what the fuck go away,” Louis rolls his eyes, “so she starting lecturing me about how using my phone in the hallway is a ‘ _hazard’_.”

 

Harry laughs with his mouth full. “How could it be a hazard?”  

                          

“Exactly!” he throws his hands up, “She said how I could ‘not watch where I’m going’ and fall down the stairs. Like, oh yeah la la la I’m texting la la la oh is that a staircase  _oops_! I swear to god after like ten minutes I told her I was late and she didn’t give me a pass! Mr. Matthews agreed that she’s crazy so it was fine.”

 

“A few years ago I took French for the hell of it and she failed me in the first marking period cause I apparently ‘I doodled too much in my notebook’.”

 

“You know what she reminds me of?” Louis strokes his chin thoughtfully, “A nun.”

 

Harry laughs as he tries to take a sip of his drink, “A French speaking nun, that’s interesting.”

 

Louis shrugs and steals Harry’s water bottle to take an air sip. “Wait who’s Mr. Matthews?” Harry asks.

 

“Oh,” he swallows, “he’s the computer graphics teacher,” Louis wrinkles his nose, “now that I think about it, he’s kinda creepy.”

        

“How?”

 

“I don’t know, he’s always looking at me weird. He’s just out of uni like two years ago and I know for a fact he’s gay. But, like, when he passes out our project papers he always brushes our fingers together and I have to force the paper out of his grip.” He shrugs again, “I guess I’m just so fit he can’t control those old man hormones.”

 

Harry chokes on his fry, “Lou,” he coughs and chuckles, “He’s not that old. You do realize that’ll be us in six years?”

 

“Ew,” Louis groans loudly, “Stop. I don’t want to grow up. I sound like a four year old but I don’t even care.” Harry nods in agreement, “It’s already enough I have to start filling out school applications – on top of that my mum’s making get a job!”

 

“But I thought you told me your dad pays for everything?”

 

“Yeah,” Louis nods, “he wires enough money into an account for me every month to pay for, like, my car insurance and clothes but my mum wants me to start saving it for after uni. Ew!” he suddenly screams, “I have to start looking for a flat, ew, I don’t want to deal with these things.”

 

“Didn’t you say something about sharing with Niall?”

 

“That’s only if we end up going to Manchester together. But, I was thinking about applying for something over seas.” He twiddles his fingers as Harry narrows his eyes.

 

“You’re thinking about going out of the United Kingdom?”

        

“Well yeah,” Louis leans his head back, “America has some of the best art colleges. Not Zayn art, like dancing and theatre. I’d really love something in New York City cause I went there once I really loved it but that’s only if my mum and Troy have enough money to send me over –“

 

“What about us?”

 

Louis pauses, locking gazes with the captain sitting behind him, “Uh,” he chuckles awkwardly, “What  _about_ us, Harry?”

 

Zayn throws a football where Louis and Harry are seated, and Louis yelps in surprise when it hits his stomach. Sitting up off Harry’s chest, he belts the ball back with twice as much force. Zayn curses and chooses to stop. Louis situates back into his position, and rolls his eyes. “But what were you saying?” he directs his attention back to the captain.

 

“Nothing,” Harry shakes his head with a tight smile, Louis can tell Harry isn’t being honest with him, but he ignores it, instead reaching to the side lay his hand on top of Harry’s. The captain hums, finishing the last of his burger with one hand.

 

They sit in silence for the next forty minutes with the soft sounds of Louis’ playlist playing in their ear. His music ranges from Leona Lewis to Passion Pit and Harry chooses not to comment on how strange it is.

 

“Don’t tell me you’re sorry cause you’re not, baby when I know only you’re sorry cause you got caught,” Louis softly sings along with Rihanna to Take a Bow as it plays through his headphones. “But you put on quite a show, really had me going, but now it’s time to go, curtains finally closing –“

 

Harry smiles, “You’re really good,” he whispers in the boy’s ear, making him jump from the sudden second voice.

 

“At what?” he asks confused.

 

“Singing.”

        

“Psh,” Louis scoffs, “I suck.”

 

“Unless that wasn’t your voice about five seconds ago, then no you don’t.”

 

“Your argument is invalid.”

 

“Are you a computer program now?”

                                   

Louis prods him playfully in the stomach, and he turns his body in slightly to snuggle his head into Harry’s neck. “You’re soft, I like it.”

 

“Mhm,” Harry laughs lowly and rubs his hands over Louis’ exposed arms trying to warm him up. The poor lad is dressed in only his cheering uniform. Harry has the advantage of his footie uniform covering most of his body plus his sweatpants. He  _did_  offer the pants to Louis but the boy said he would be fine – his loss.

 

He looks out the bus window, and he notices they’re in the heart of London now. Louis follows his gaze, and suddenly he gasps and completely detangles himself from the boy.

 

“This is London!” Louis’ smile grows ten times bigger; “I went to London Private for my freshman year! Wait! Is that where we’re going?” Harry nods puzzled, “Yay! Oh my god I haven’t seen Alicia in forever! I wonder if she still goes here.”

        

He starts to think about all his old friends. He would’ve stayed in London if it weren’t for Aiden. He laughs now at the memory but back when he was 14 and still fragile, Aiden stomped his heart out without a second thought. Well, he doesn’t know if he could even call it that.

 

“We’re here,” snapping him back to the present, and Louis squeals when he sees the familiar front gates.

 

“I loved this place,” Louis sighs happily, captivated by the transformation of his old school. “Whoa they got a new football pitch. When I went here all they had was two tennis courts.” He looks back to Harry who isn’t paying attention to him, instead doing a player head check. Louis instantly quiets, knowing this is when Harry goes into serious mode for a game. The JV players are still goofing around, like normal, and he sees how Harry tenses with frustration. To help, Louis tangles their fingers together.

 

Harry relaxes at the contact, squeezing Louis’ hand in appreciation. “You’ll do great babe,” Louis whispers sweetly in his ear, “you always do.”

 

Sighing contently, Harry leans over the seat and presses a firm kiss to Louis’ lips. It soon grows, and Louis opens his mouth as the captain licks over his bottom lip. The bus pulls to stop in front of the pitch, sending Louis flying forward and falling off the seat. “Fucker,” he whispers from where he’s squished in between the foot space. “That bus driver is out to get me.”

 

Harry laughs loudly, helping Louis out of the space before getting up to collect his bag.

 

Tiffany comes up from behind Louis when he exits the bus and throws an arm over his shoulder, “This is the _definition_  of a snotty rich school, yeah?”

 

“Hey,” Louis warns, “I used to go here. Don’t hate.”

 

The football pitch bleachers are already full of spectators and the London team is running around warming up. Louis stops to fix his sneaker laces on the walk, in the meanwhile checking around for any faces might recognize.

 

A hand brushes against his lower spine, and Louis stands. Harry begins to guide him towards the field, focusing on the bleachers and looking nervous. "I'm really freaked out," he admits while licking his lips, "We lost to London last year and they're one of the most important for us to win to get into championships."

 

"What did I tell you before?" Louis spins on his heals and wraps his arms around Harry's neck, "You'll do great. You're undefeated, hello! That has to mean something."

 

Harry admires how small the cheerleader is compared to him, and wraps his arms around his slim waist.

 

"How about," Louis lowers his voice to a seductive whisper, "if you win, you can do  _anything_  you want with me." He bites his lip with innocence as Harry's eyes widen.

 

"Anything?"

 

"Mhm," Louis nods with each syllable and runs his fingers along Harry's bicep, "is that enough motivation?"

 

"Hmmmm," Harry hums thoughtfully, "I don't think so,"

 

"What else would you like?"

 

Instead of answering, Harry dips down to kiss him. Louis smiles into it, going up on his tippy toes to tilt his head. After a few minutes, Niall throws a water bottle at the two and they reluctantly pull apart. “I’ll see you,” Harry says breathless, leaving one last kiss on Louis’ lips then bolting towards the field to warm up.

 

Tiffany, who has been waiting patiently next to Louis, pulls his arm to where the cheerleaders are setting up. Louis gets to work stretching his legs, having Tiffany as his partner.

 

The girl squints her eyes as they are practicing the dance in the direction of the other side of the pitch, “Those guys are staring at you,” she whispers. Louis stops dancing to look across.

 

“No. Way.” He smiles huge, and so does a boy from London’s team. With one quick ‘I’ll be back’ Louis starts sprinting to the other side. A black haired boy drops his football opens his arms to let Louis crash into his chest. “Daniel!” the smaller boy screams as they collide, “I can’t believe it!”

 

Daniel squeezes his old friend just as hard, “What are you doing here?” He pulls back and looks over Louis’ outfit with wide eyes, “And what the fuck are you wearing?”

 

Louis giggles, “I’m hot don’t even try to lie.” For extra measure, he strikes a pose to make them both laugh.

 

“Motherfucker!” a different boy comes up behind Louis and hugs his waist off the ground.

 

Louis instantly recognizes the voice and lets himself be lifted up without a fight, “Cunt!” Kyle drops him to ground and Louis spins around to give him a proper hug, “How are you?”

        

“Been missing your arse, shit, I thought you fucking died or some bullshit.” Louis laughs at him.

 

“My bad. I know, we were suppose to keep talking,” he looks back and forth between the two boys, “but I’ve been really busy.”

 

Kyle notices the Cheshire uniform Louis’ wearing and whistles, “When did you get so fit.” It’s not a question, more of Kyle’s way to compliment.

 

“I’ve always been fit!” Louis cries with mock offense, “Are you trying to tell me I was  _ugly_  last time I was here?” All of them laugh.

 

Daniel speaks up, “I thought you went to Bradford.”

 

“Funny story actually,” Louis starts, “I went to Bradford then transferred to Wolverhampton and now I’m living in Cheshire.”

 

Daniel nods enthusiastically, “That sounds so cool. How’s Daisy and Phoebe doing? Last time I saw them I think… they were one at least. How old are they now?”

 

“Four and half. Started pre-school this year.”

 

Daniel’s mouth drops open, “Oh my god it’s been forever,” he looks over to Louis’ fellow cheerleaders, “So cheerleading, hm? I always saw you as the dancing type.”

 

“You’re a cheerleader? I thought Cheshire started a stripper team.” Louis punches Kyle in the arm, “Damn! That hurt you little fucker. I’ve just never seen a guy wearing that.”

 

He glares but with wide smile and looks down at his outfit, “Yeah, it’s new. It’s definitely different, but I don’t know, I like it.”

 

“That’s good. So are you dating any of those girls over there?” he points to Louis’ team, “They’re fine as hell.”

 

“Yeah, Tomlinson, getting any pussy these days?”

 

Louis hesitates, trying to come up with a way to explain his situation. “Well,” he rubs the back of his neck, “we haven’t put a label on it - we’re just fucking around.”

 

“Oh fuck!” Kyle exclaims, “Louis has a girl, it’s a fucking miracle!”

 

“Shut up!” Louis whispers, and sure enough everyone is now staring at the trio like crazy. “It’s not a girl, you twat.”

 

Daniel and Kyle’s smiles drop, and they look at the cheerleader with narrowed eyebrows.

 

“You – You’re fucking a  _guy_?” Daniel tentatively asks.

 

 _Shit_ , Louis thinks. Louis forgot that London Private isn’t like Cheshire. He suddenly feels fear for what they might do if he says yes, and stutters out an answer. “I-I mean she’s not a  _young_  girl! No, I just meant she’s a – um – she’s 22. Yeah, she likes being called a woman I don’t know.”

 

The two friends smile widely. Louis internally sighs in relief when Kyle throws an arm around his shoulder, “That’s what I like to hear! How’s that bitch? She good in bed?”

 

“Would I keep her around if she wasn’t?” that earns him a high five from both boys.

 

Daniel drops the subject and jabs a thumb to his own football team who’s staring back at the three boys “I got voted captain.”

 

“He thinks he’s the best shit just because he got a stupid armband.” Kyle playfully sniggers at Daniel.

                 

“Really?” Louis exclaims, “Oh that’s great! I’m happy for you. And Kyle shut up you’re just jealous.”

 

“Thanks,” Daniel’s eyes flicker to something behind Louis, “I think that blonde girl is trying to call you over.” Louis turns around to see Tiffany waving him to come back.

 

“Looks like that’s my cue. Do you two still have my number? I haven’t changed it,” they boy nod, “then stop being strangers and text me!” when he’s about to turn to leave, he snaps his fingers, “Is Alicia here?”

        

“Yeah, she’s in the marching band.”

 

“Of course,” with an eye roll, he hugs Daniel and Kyle goodbye and jogs back to the cheerleaders.

 

Eleanor and Tiffany eye him suspiciously, “Who were they?”

 

“Old friends.”

 

“What was all that yelling about you having a girl?” Eleanor tilts her head in uncertainty.

 

He gives her a confused look, and then remembers the lie he said to save himself. “Oh,” he laughs nervously, “just playing around. Kyle was just joking.”

 

“Kyle’s attractive,” Tiffany nibbles on his bottom lip as she hungrily stares across the pitch, “Is he single?”

 

“Let me guess,” Louis sighs, “you and Tony had another fight.”

 

Tiffany shrugs, “I’m officially over him, he isn’t worth my time.”

 

Eleanor and Louis lock gazes, and both burst out laughing. Tiffany glares at her two friends.

 

Louis abruptly stops laughing and goes serious, “The day you get over Tony is the day I fuck Channing Tatum.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> reminder: i dont live in Britain so lets just assume all the towns i mention are close to each other.


	13. chapter xii

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> liam is the cute little guy who sits in the corner by himself on his phone and louis defends him

Louis, at lunch on Monday, has ten friends surrounding him as they talk with Harry’s arm hooked around his shoulder. He's half paying attention – too busy looking out the window and daydreaming about anything that pops into his head. Every since Wednesday’s game last week, he’s starting to question where him and Harry stand – relationship wise. Everyone thinks they’re dating, Harry seems to think they’re something – but he doesn’t want that. All the boys that he actually  _wants_ to flirt with always end up ignoring his obvious signs because they think he’s taken. This whole Harry thing makes no one want to get with him.

                       

And that can’t happen. He’s Louis Tomlinson for crying out loud, guys should be lining up to fuck him, and he should be letting them.

 

But there’s something – he doesn’t know what – about Harry that makes him cuddle more into his side. He’s never had a guy who protects him so much, or rather, makes sure everyone knows he belongs to one person. Louis doesn’t know if he likes that, or if he thinks it’s annoying. But Harry buys him tea every morning and texts him late at night until he falls asleep – and Louis’s so confused but definitely likes it.

 

In the corner of the room, Liam sits by himself and draws a doodle on his notebook. Ever since Louis started sitting with Harry and his group, he’s been kicked to the curb and is forced to eat lunch alone. He’s used to this, but the few weeks with Louis to talk to was nice. Sure, he could try and interact with others but he’s too shy. There was a time when he was sitting with Harry, Zayn, and Niall and laughing, but now they grimace whenever he walks by. It makes him feel like utter crap.

           

“Would you look at Payne over there.” Picking his head up from where he was inspecting his finger nails, Louis squints his eyes to look behind his own table to a group who all turned their attention towards Liam, “he’s such a freak.” The group laughs – Louis suspects they’re the art junkies – and narrows his eyes as they keep poking fun. Liam is his friend, and he has no idea that these stupid jerks are talking about him.

 

Liam doesn’t hear or notice the group staring at him, and continues doodling. Another boy, who joins in the group’s conversation, laughs, “I bet if we went up there, he would cry like a baby. Hey Emma, throw your water and see what happens.” He looks to a girl, who blushes and shakes her head no immediately. Louis scoffs from where he’s seated. It’s people like him that get Louis’ insides boiling. Liam isn’t even doing anything and they still taunt him with immature comments. “C’mon, a water bottle hitting him is the biggest action he’ll get all year, let him enjoy it.”

 

Harry notices Louis tense in his arms, and frowns. “You okay?” he whispers in his ear, and Louis rolls his eyes rudely. He’s not annoyed at Harry, but he’s too focused on the art group to pay attention to what the captain is saying.

 

A different boy with tattoos, who Louis suspects is best friends with the main boy, brings his hand up to his mouth and coughs with the word, “loser” slipping out at the same time. Everyone at that table burst out laughing again, making Louis’ fists clench.  

 

Louis has had enough, and when Harry tries to question him, he ignores the boy completely and shoots out of his chair. Glaring at the group, he makes his way over to the empty seat beside Liam. The cafeteria seems to go silent, and everyone peers from his or her tables to seethe Louis sitting next to Liam extra closely. The art group gapes at the boy, but Louis smirks and lays a hand on Liam’s hand that holds his pen.

 

“Uh,” Liam notices Louis’ hand and looks up confused, “Why are you holding my hand?” still oblivious to everyone watching them, Liam allows Louis’ fingers to slowly travel up his wrist to his arm. With a tilt of his head, Louis rolls up the boy’s sleeve to have a good look at his muscles.

 

“Have you been working out?” Louis lowers his voice and squeezes Liam’s bicep admiringly, “You’re really  _hard_ ,” he bites his lip as the last word rolls of his tongue, “I like it hard, and  _big_.” Liam chokes on air, but with a few coughs, he looks at the cheerleader with wide eyes and flushes red. “Do you think you’re big, Liam?” Louis rubs his fingers down his chest, “Cause I do,”

 

Liam licks his lips confused, “What are you doing?” he whispers, trying to keep calm but failing miserably with Louis’ fingers feeling around his chest.

 

Louis leans in to his ear, his mouth teasingly brushing against Liam’s ear, “I just think you’re really fit, and I would  _love_  if you fucked me,” his words has the boy shivering. “Would you like that? Would you fuck my arse hard?” Liam is about to question what the boy means but his words are caught in his throat, as Louis’ face is an inch away from his. He is practically Eskimo kissing Louis, their noses brushing together every time he takes a breathe. Liam takes notices on how beautiful this boy’s eyes are: clear crystals of blue with sun kissed tanned skin to compliment.

 

Licking his lips, Liam replies, “W-hat?”

 

“What?” Louis smiles wickedly, “Do I make you nervous?”

 

“No, I just don’t understand.”

 

“How could you not understand? It’s simple. It would require you… me…” Louis slides his hand up Liam’s thigh, leaning in so his lips brush gently against his neck, “and some lube.”

 

Jumping back, Liam open-mouthed stares at Louis like he has four heads. Louis smirks at his expression, leaning forward to try and attach their lips, “Um I-I –” Liam dodges the kiss so it hits his cheek, scrambling backward against his chair and grabbing his notebook.

 

“Wait,” Louis protests with a mischievous twinkle in his eyes, “Lunch isn’t over yet, you can’t leave.”

 

He sits up straighter, his eyes flicking from Louis’ face to where the cheerleader’s hand sits on his thigh, “Why are you doing this? Did someone bribe you to embarrass me or something?”  

           

Louis sees the hurt flicker in Liam’s eyes, and his smile drops as he retracts his hand from where it lays on his thigh. He sits back in his chair like an ashamed child, “I’m sorry,” he keeps his voice to a whisper so no one hears him, “These stupid guys were making fun of you and basically said how haven’t got with someone all year and I wanted to show them that –“ he shakes his head, “Sorry,” he tries to get up but Liam grabs his wrist before he could get up.

 

There’s something in Liam’s eyes that’s changed. His smile is more genuine, not nervous, and his expression is warm compared to tense. “Louis,” he smiles wider, “that’s the nicest thing someone’s done for me in a while,” Louis relaxes and smiles back, “thank you.”

           

“No problem, Li, you’re my friend,” he answers, “I’m sorry I’ve kinda just left you here. How about this week I sit with you?”

 

“Don’t worry about me,” Liam shakes his head.

 

Louis smiles, and totally forgetting about what he was first here to do, and leans in to kiss Liam’s lips sweetly. It’s his way to apologize, or maybe Liam is actually really hot and he wanted to kiss him – no one can judge. It’s still a mystery on why someone who is this attractive sits by himself at lunch, but Louis just shrugs and stands up. “Text me later?”

 

The overhead speakers cut off Liam’s sentence “Yeah I’ll –“

 

“Louis Tomlinson please come down to the office, Louis Tomlinson to the office please.” Louis looks around when everyone starts whispering, shrugs, and waves goodbye to Liam as he walks out of the cafeteria.

 

He opens the door to the office, and the principal is talking to the secretary. Mr. Byer has never liked Louis, the cheerleader can tell, but he bites his tongue to keep from saying something. Obviously it’s something to do with him being gay, but who cares when Mr. Byer is ugly and fat.

 

If he were tall, fit, and handsome – yeah, Louis would be  _that_  student that flirts with the principal and gets him fired. But hey – if he gets a fuck out of it then who cares.

 

That’s not the situation though, so they smile tightly at one another and the principal points to his office. Louis follows and sits down in the chair in front of his desk.

 

Mr. Byer sighs, as if the conversation pains him, and starts off with, “Are you in AP English?”

 

“Yeah,” Louis flicks his hair out of his eyes, even though it wasn’t bothering him in the first place.

 

“Well it says right here,” he plucks a paper off his desk and hands it over to the student, “That you didn’t test into it.” Louis squints his eyes in confusion, “Well obviously you have no experience when it comes to being in an honors class…” Louis’ eyebrows rise “…but when you want to be in an AP course, you have to take an entrance test. For English, you are required to write a composition in a set amount of time. Now,” the principal impolitely picks the paper back from Louis’ hand, “I was going to just remove you from the class but Ms. Thomas thinks you’re ‘too smart’ to be demoted so I’m scheduling you to take the test in two weeks.”

 

“You’re so rude, you know that?” he sneers to the man while crossing his arms, “I really wonder how you even got qualified for this job.”

 

“So sorry Mr. Tomlinson that I don’t fit your homosexual standards, but can I tell you a secret?” he lowers his voice, “I don’t care.”

 

The end of lunch bell rings, and Mr. Byer claps his hands, “Alright, Mr. Tomlinson, in two weeks you’ll be expected to take the AP test. If you fail, then you’ll be bumped down. If you pass, then congratulations, you might have a better shot of getting into uni instead of working a street corner waiting for men to pay for a night.”

 

-o-

 

“Harry,” Louis warns the boy, pushing his body away gently and refocusing on the book lying in between his parted legs.

 

Without hesitation, the captain dives in again, tilting his head and sucking a bruise an inch under Louis’ ear. He sits next to the boy, his whole body twisted awkwardly to kiss Louis’ neck but not stopping when requested – loving the way Louis squirms under his touch.

 

“I said not now –“ Louis’ last word gets cut off by his own giggle, with Harry smiling against the tanned flesh of his skin and blowing softly at the wet mark he left behind. “Haz I have to –“ he tries to clear his mind, “I have to study! Seriously!” Harry only presses himself firmer into Louis’ side, arm coming out from where he held his own book to cup the other boy’s jaw.

 

Louis whines low in his throat, sighing up at the ceiling of his bedroom. Harry’s doing that _thing_  he does with his tongue against his neck and as much as he’s trying to stay strong – his mouth let’s out a small moan that surely gets noticed. The younger boy pulls away, grinning triumphantly, then crashes his lips with Louis’.

 

Forgetting the books placed in front of them, Louis rearranges himself so he’s straddling Harry’s groin – chests completely pressed together and hands settled on different parts of each other’s body. The captain’s huge hands slide into Louis’ trousers, softly palming him and squeezing those plump arse cheeks that make his mouth water. Louis plays with the ridiculously loveable curls on the player’s head, laughing into Harry’s mouth when he can swear the boy purrs at his touch.

 

-o-

 

"Harry," Louis grips the luscious curls tighter, back arching off the bed. His spine cracks for what it seems the millionth time since they started. His abs contract with every move he makes, " _Harry_ " the captain doesn't stop his tongue, swirling and retracting from his hole. He jabs the muscle particularly hard against the boy's prostate, earning another low whine. " _Harry_  oh my god," Louis bites his bottom lip, feeling a burning sensation as he bites down hard. He rolls his head farther back into the plush pillow, mouth hanging open. His chest moves erratically with his breathing with his hands finding purchase in Harry's hair.

 

He's spread out on his bed, legs dangling wide open and his knees pushes up to be level with his shoulders - his hole on full display. The captain has been eating him out for the past hour. At first, he was a complete mess, thrashing his limps and ordering for Harry to move on to actual sex but he's found the boy's tongue is  _much_  more suitable for their time frame.

 

He starts to roll his hips into Harry's face, demanding friction for his achingly hard dick he knows he will not receive.

 

The captain lets him fuck himself on his tongue, playing a twisted game of teasing. He would remove his tongue for a full minute until Louis is begging for it - driving the boy completely mad with desire.

 

Louis' body is a panting mess of sweat and pure hunger - his mind clouded with the feeling of that  _sinful_  tongue shoved deep inside his entrance. Harry presses his hands firmer into Louis' thighs, steadying the cheerleader so his legs don't give out. He presses his nose deeper into Louis' balls - his tongue following suit into the boy's hole. "Shit _Haz_  - oh fuck - love that - love your tongue"

 

Harry drives deeper, licking into his hole as if he's trying to get the  _very_  last bit of ice cream at the bottom of the cone. He pushes farther inside, twisting the best he can, and tilts his head to stab his tongue in a different angle. Louis' warmness envelops his wet muscle, the sensation making him wish his tongue was longer so he can just  _shove and shove_  deeper.

 

Louis' walls are soft, smooth, and purely _wet_  from all the tongue that's been licking him. Harry can feels rebellious in a way - knowing he has to eat food and kiss his family with the same mouth he's ate out a guy's  _arsehole_  with.

 

It’s been two weeks since his meeting with Mr. Byer, and Louis didn’t study for his test. Oops. But his world is revolved around cramming, and he’s  _trying_  to do that now to get the last minute tips for AP testing, but Harry insisted on helping. Louis should’ve known that the ‘study session’ would end up like this.

 

His phone alarm goes off, just as Louis cums, and Harry climbs up the bed to be face to face with him. Louis tries to catch his breath, “I have to go,” he looks at the clock and groans, “Fuck, you ruined my cramming.” Harry smirks and squeezes his hips as an answer. “If I fail then I won’t be in your class anymore.” Louis sits up from the bed, his post orgasm shocks still running through him, and grabs his clothes to slip back on.

 

“You’ll do fine,” Harry reassures him, “more than fine. Prove to that shit Mr. Byer you’re better than him.” Louis never told Harry what Mr. Byer actually said to him in the office – because he’s pretty sure there would be a shit storm if anyone found out. But he’s the principal, and Louis is the new gay cheerleading student, so there’s not much he could back up his arrangement with without being judged. He’s gotten way worse, anyway.

           

So Louis laughs and hugs him one last time. Harry is literally one of the perfect guys he’s ever met. One moment it’s slow, hot, and sexy – and did he  _mention_  sexy – but then he’s this cute little ball of curls that makes Louis want to hug him forever. But usually, Harry is a tad bit distant. He likes his space, and he likes ignoring people on that rare day – but Louis is never one of those people. If he was, then his bitch switch would be on.

 

“And afterwards?” Louis keeps his arms around the captain’s neck to pull back and look into his eyes.

 

“I was thinking we could go to my house until Greg’s party?” his voice falters, going from confident to unsure, and Louis internally questions his personality change but nods nonetheless. Now that he thinks about it, Louis has never been to Harry’s house. They’ve always come to his or went with a group to another person’s house.

 

“Yeah,” he confirms, “that sounds nice. Okay,” he looks at the clock once more, “I really have to go or I’ll be late.” Harry cups his jaw  _one_  last time to leave a kiss on his cheek, just for good luck, and gets up off the bed.

 

He guides Louis to his car, opening the door like a gentleman, then waves goodbye as he climbs into his own.

 

He thumps his head against the headrest, taking deep breathes to control his thoughts. Things with Louis, he’s not going to lie, are the most extended version of complicated he’s ever have to deal with. One minute, Harry’s questioning if Louis still likes him because he just kissed another guy right in front of him or other times he  _knows_  there’s a spark there. The way Louis hugs him when it’s not really necessary or how he’s starting to open up more makes Harry think there’s hope. Hope that one day he’ll be able to ask Louis to be his boyfriend without being laughed at or kissed sweetly on the cheek as a no.

 

Why is he even bothering with Louis? Okay, he’s hot and – let’s face it – is the best in bed than any other of his past relationships. Yeah, he has personality and can make the whole room light up with one laugh. Sure, he’s sweet as honey and has the grades to match –

 

 _Oh fuck_ , Harry thinks,  _I’m screwed_.

 

-o-

 

Louis is a hundred percent sure, okay or maybe close to fifty is about right, that he’ll pass the English test. The ride to Harry’s house is filled with awkward silence and Louis takes the time to rethink over his composition. It was a basic explanation but he’s not so sure he fully understood on what because the question what very vague – but that’s how they get you. The questions are designed to test the student’s knowledge to see if they can comprehend the material – and half the time it ends in failure. Louis would hate to change his schedule again, because he likes all his classes now – and no, it’s  _not_  because of a certain curly haired boy sitting next to him.

 

Shut up.

           

Harry seemed nervous ever since Louis got into his car after the test, with his hands gripping the steering wheel until his knuckles turned pale with his eyes glued to the road. This isn’t the first time they’re hanging out after school and it’s confusing Louis but he doesn’t choose to comment, instead humming along to the radio.

 

The houses grow larger with every new block Harry drives – and soon Louis is staring at full-fledged mansions with gates and beautiful landscaping. The boy looks at Harry for an explanation but he refuses to look at him. “Where are we?” Louis has never seen this part of town before – well maybe for Roxy’s party but he doesn’t really remember exactly where that was.

 

Harry, again, doesn’t reply and flicks his blinker on. They pull into a driveway with a white gate and Harry rolls down his driver’s window to press a button. A voice comes out of the speakers, “Good afternoon Mr. Styles,”

 

“Hello Jeffery,” Harry leans his head back as the gates start to open. Louis’ mouth fully hangs open as he stares at Harry with shocked eyes but the boy _still_  won’t look at him for his reaction.

 

The car rolls into the property, and for a few minutes they’re driving down what it seems to be a never-ending path aligned with neatly cut bushes and trees and statues scattered here or there. Louis can’t pry his eyes away from the land, so he doesn’t notice how much Harry’s nerves are making his fidget.

 

The trees start to clear out and the shade is replaced with blinding sunlight. Adjusting his eyes, Louis blinks until he finally sees Harry’s house – no not house –  _castle_.

 

“Holy shit,” he curses silently, craning his neck to look everywhere he can set his eyes on. The castle itself has to be at least five stories, hand carved bricks lining in a fashionable way up the wall, dozens of windows – each accompanied by a balcony. There are ten different styles of cars lined up around the entry fountain, each one looking _very_  expensive. Louis is speechless, he can’t even form curses or compliments because he’s never seen a house this size in person. It honestly looks like they stole a castle from a disney movie.

 

Harry shuts off the engine, leaning back in his seat and scanning Louis’ face. “Uh Lou?” Louis snaps out of his trace to look at Harry.

 

“You have to be joking,” he answers awestruck, a small smile tugging on the corners of his lips, “Harry, oh my god!” he motions to the house, “You didn’t fucking tell me you were the prince of Britain!”

 

Harry blushes, fiddling with his fingers as a nervous habit, “I usually don’t show people where I live,” Louis is about to answer but he continues, “Once they see my family has money, they start treating me different – like – they always want to hang out here and eat here and have parties here… they just use me. My parents are very generous and people take advantage of them all the time. Whenever they see someone new they offer anything they want and this one time this guy I brought home had the nerve to ask for some money. I kicked him out before my mum could bat an eyelash – so… uh that’s why I kept off showing you my house – until I knew I really liked you and that you genuinely wanted –“

 

Louis cuts off his rambling with a sweet kiss on the cheek. It’s quick and his lips barely brush over his skin but it has Harry’s breath hitching. The other boy smiles warmly, eyes twinkling blue while he watches Harry blush, “You’re such a dolt. Of course I would never do any of that – I like you too much to ruin whatever this is.”

 

Harry’s eyes widen but Louis smirks and opens his passenger door. The captain rushes to open his own door, hitting the lock button then closing it. He takes step with Louis up the driveway, “Impressive.” He nods shortly, running a finger along the smooth metal of his dad’s mustang. “So tell me young Harold, your parents drive these $400,000 cars while you are driving a beat up truck?” he questions jokingly, raising an eyebrow at Harry.

                       

He shrugs while stuffing his hand in his jean pockets, “I like my truck. I have two other cars but one is too big and the other only fits me so…“

 

“Yeah, I get that. My Porsche can be a bit cramped at times but she’s my baby,” Louis grins widely, flashing his eyes towards Harry then back to the decorated front door.

 

“My parents aren’t home so we could do whatever – Oliver should be getting home soon though,“ Harry unlocks the main door and holds it open for Louis to step inside. They enter the entry staircase with a crystal chandelier handing over their heads and marble statues to their sides. “I’m too lazy to give a tour so basically, I have my own floor, the fifth, Oliver has the third, my parents have the second and my sister Gemma gets the fourth. The kitchen is down that hallway to the left and right across is the gym. Under the gym you have to take the elevator and that takes you down to the bowling alley and the swimming pool – there’s another one outside – but Dad wants Oliver to be professional so he installed an Olympic sized pool for winter. If you walk down the opposite hallway then it leads you to the bathroom, living room, and dining room and that’s basically it.” Louis looks at Harry was astonishment, blinking rapidly trying to process all the information, “Oh! And if you walk out the back door, there’s a cabin where we do fires and it’s really cool – that’s mainly where I hang out when I’m bored ‘cause there’s games, another gym, pool table, bar, a winding staircase-“

 

“I get it.” Louis cuts him off and laughs, “Okay the only thing I got from that was your room is on the fifth floor.” Harry laughs with him, motioning for the boy to follow him to the back door.

 

“That’s really all you need to know. I’m not allowed on any floor expect this one or mine – same goes with everyone else and their own floors.”

 

“Who’s Oliver?” Louis asks as Harry slides the doors open and they walk towards the cabin. It’s wooden with a very campy sort of vibe – and from just the outside Louis can already feel the comfortable atmosphere Harry loves so much.

 

“My brother,” Harry answers, “He’s ten. I love him to bits but he’s plain out annoying most of the time.” Suddenly, he feels something jump on his back and he goes tumbling to the ground with a – very manly – squeal. Louis laughs loudly, flipping over to his back and letting go of the boy. Harry glares at him, pouncing back to straddle him and Louis tries to wrestle back but he’s too weak and Harry pins him.

 

They laugh together.


	14. chapter xiii

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> halloween (3,ooo words of smut, youre welcum)

Why do malls have to be freezing?

 

Louis swears if he didn’t have Harry’s arm thrown over his shoulder with their sides pressed against eachother, he would have froze by now.

 

It’s Wednesday, two days before Halloween, and the two boys are at the mall strolling around and looking for costumes. Zayn’s throwing a party on Friday (which would land on Halloween) and no one can enter without a proper costume. So, being Louis forgot that minor detail, he dragged Harry along for last minute shopping. He doesn’t even know where to begin, with countless stores selling costumes, and hates that he’s probably not going to find anything good because he procrastinated.

 

But it’s his fault that he’s so cold, because he got thirsty and bought an iced mocha – and now that he thinks about it, that wasn’t the smartest idea. “You want the rest of this?” Louis shows the half full cup to Harry, who nods and takes it with his free hand.

 

“I heard the expo is coming up,” Harry takes a sip of the drink as he peers around the different store options.

 

Louis nods, “Yeah, this Saturday. I’m really nervous.”

 

“Don’t be,” he reassures Louis, “It’s just like footie games. All you have to do is win 5 expos out of 8 then you go to nationals, yeah?”

 

“You make it sound easy,” he sighs and guides them out of the way of a woman pushing a baby stroller, “Sure, it’s only 5, but Eleanor is fucking crazy when it comes to practicing.”

 

Harry shrugs, “I’m the same way, I get where she’s coming from.”

 

“But she’s making me learn a helicopter and I really don’t feel like falling on my arse in front of, like, a thousand people. Do you know how embarrassing that would be? And she’s only gave me this week to learn it!” Harry squeezes his shoulders to tell him to relax, and he easily releases the tension. “Sorry,” he mumbles.

 

“It’s okay,” Harry smiles, “What’s on your mind?”

 

“My mum was yelling at me last night to get a job,” Louis confesses. Him and Jay never argue, but these days their relationship is shifting. She says it’s because Cheshire is changing him, but he doesn’t agree. But whenever he tries to defend himself, she considers it ‘talking back’ and they start yelling at one another. He hates fighting with her, especially with the twins only a room away, and ends up stomping out of the house. He usually finds himself at Harry’s or Tiffany’s, but he’d rather just stay home.

 

“Why don’t you apply for something here?” Harry motions to the stores surrounding them, and Louis scoffs.

 

“I hate working. I already have cheering that runs ‘til 6 everyday, then I have a stupid English essay every week, and on top of that I have to watch my sisters at night when my mum steps out to run errands – and that’s like everyday! The only free days I get are weekends and I need a social life so I’m always busy. How am I supposed to work a job in there?”

 

“I wouldn’t know,” Harry frowns apologetically. His life is totally different from Louis. His dad owns half the businesses in Britain, meaning he’s never had to worry about money. His family has enough to last for five generations to come. Of course, Harry’s required to go to college, but unlike Louis he doesn’t have to fit a job in between that. “How about you become a floor model?”

 

“A floor model?” Louis looks up at Harry in confusion.

 

“Yeah,” Harry stops in front of Hollister and points to the Californian bungalow entrance, “You get to model the clothes but you still have to work the cash register and everything. But there’s no shitty uniforms at least.”

 

Louis scrunches his nose and peers inside the store as well. Now that he thinks about it, he does have the body for a model, and he’s pretty persuasive when it comes to people. Maybe he could be a good sales person. And Hollister, well he personally doesn’t wear that brand as much anymore, but it’s a good company. Not to mention the clothes smell  _heavenly_. “Eh, it’s worth a shot, right?” Harry nods with him, “So do I just apply or what?”

 

“I would think so,” and with that, Louis releases himself from Harry and the two make their way inside. As they walk in, the soft island music fills their ears and the perfumed smells fill their nose. The dark atmosphere gives a certain vibe that makes Louis feel at home.

 

A petite girl wearing a short white dress, that conveniently hangs on the wall for sale, smiles and greets them, “Hi guys! Can I help you with anything?”

 

“Uh yeah,” Louis looks at Harry with nervous eyes then back to the girl, “Are you hiring?”

 

The girl stops folding clothes and comes around the table to scan his body. Louis bites his lip under her gaze, but she soon smiles and he relaxes. “Actually, we are. And if you can just fill out a form I’m sure I can talk to my manager about hiring you. You’re cute, I think you’d be perfect.”

 

Louis blushes and ducks his face to hide it, “Thank you.” His stomach flutters with the idea of his first job, and he follows the girl to the counter so she can give him a form.

 

She slides a paper over to Louis and looks expectantly over to Harry. “Are you interested too?”

        

“No, thanks.” He smiles with all teeth and dimples and Louis swears the girl almost melts from how gorgeous Harry is.  _Yeah, join the club sister_ , he thinks.

 

“O-okay,” the girl stutters then composes herself, “Just bring that form back all filled out and we’ll call you.” Louis says ‘thank you’ one more time and lets Harry rest a hand on his hips as he’s guided out of the store.

 

“That was easy,” Louis chuckles as he looks over the form. He flips it over a few times before folding it in half then sliding it in his back pocket. “Okay,” he refocuses, “I need to get a costume.”

 

They reach a directory, having walked the whole length of the first floor, and Louis looks at the list of stores. “Where do you suggest? Party City?”

 

Harry stands right behind Louis, throwing his arms over him to drape across his chest. He’s tall, so he easily reads the list and squints his eyes in thought. “I have an idea,” he points to a store called Spirits. “Let’s go here. But,” he leans down to whisper in Louis’ ear, “how about we make this fun. I pick your costume and you pick mine?”

 

“Anything goes?” Louis asks.

 

“Anything.”

 

-o-

 

“Hey Liam,” Louis speaks into his phone as he picks up the Spirits bag containing his costume from the back of his closet. He still hasn’t opened it yet, wanting it to be a surprise, but it’s Friday and it’s time. Daisy and Phoebe are already out trick or treating with their friends from school, and Jay is with them so she can supervise.

 

“Hi,” Liam sounds bored, but then there’s a gunshot with the faint sound of bombs in the background, “What’s up?”

 

“Are you seriously playing video games on a Friday night? What are you, ten?” He chuckles, and there’s a pause where he thinks Liam rolls his eyes.

 

“What’s up, Lou? I’m busy.” He turns annoyed, and Louis can tell he’s on speakerphone when he picks up voices from the game.

 

“You’re busy alright, because you’re coming with me to Zayn’s party.”

 

Liam doesn’t answer for a second, and the game sounds stop. There’s a rustling where Liam takes the phone off speaker and puts it up to his ear, “I don’t think I heard you correctly.”

 

“No, you did,” Louis casually answers as he digs in the plastic bag to feel around the bottom, “and it’s a costume party so you have to wear something. Come in your batman costume, that’d be cute. I’d definitely hook up with a super hero.”

 

The boy on the other line knows he’s kidding and rolls his eyes, “I’m not going.”

 

“But it’s plus one,” Louis whines.

 

“Bring Harry.” Liam suggests as he gets up from his couch.

 

“Harry can’t be my plus one, silly. He himself can bring an extra person, and I don’t know who he’s bringing, but I want you to come ‘cause –“

 

“I said no, Louis,” he opens his refrigerator to grab a water bottle, “Parties aren’t my thing.” And he’s lying, very badly, but when he gets drunk – he’s absolutely horrible.

 

“You’re going,” Louis commands without a second thought, “I’m not letting my friend sit at home all night playing games with 40 year old strangers half way across the world when there’s a open invitation to one of the best parties of the year.”

 

“But I –“

 

“I’ll be at your house in a half hour. If you aren’t ready then I’m gonna strip you myself and make you go to the party naked. And I’m  _pretty_  sure you would wanna be seen in a costume instead of your birthday suit in front of half the school so I suggest you get started,” with that, Louis hits the end call button with a smirk and throws his phone to the far end of his bed.

         

Once he’s satisfied with knowing Liam’s attending, he finally opens the bag to see what costume Harry picked out.

 

“Holy shit.”

 

-o-

 

He knocks politely on Liam’s front door and steps off the porch. It’s been forty-five minutes since he called him, so he hopes Liam took the extra fifteen to make himself look hot. Well, he’s already hot, but even more than that.

 

The door is unlocked from the inside with a click, and Liam swings it open. He’s about to say hello, but his mouth goes dry when he sees what Louis’ wearing.

 

“Whatcha think?” Louis twirls around to show his fuzzy tail that’s placed on his arse, “I’m hot right?” Liam nods in a daze, and Louis laughs. Harry, being the bastard he is, chose a black cat outfit usually made for a girl. So, he’s stuck in a very tight black dress with fuzz balls on the hem with a long tail and a headband with pointed ears. Personally, he thinks he looks fit, and by the look of Liam’s face he  _knows_  he is. 

 

Or maybe it’s because he’s a boy who’s wearing a mini dress. But hey, yolo as Drake says.

 

He scans his eyes up his friend’s body and nods in approval. Liam decided to go the safe route with a farmers’ outfit – plaid shirt, overalls, and Timberland boots. And honestly, Liam looks adorable. “You look good. Zayn’s waiting for us so we should go,” As he turns to leave, Liam grabs his wrist to pull him back with puppy dog eyes.

 

“Louis I really don’t wanna go, Zayn wouldn’t want me there,”

 

He rolls his eyes and retracts his hand, “ _Relax_ , Li. It’s not like he has anything against you, yeah? Just enjoy yourself!” With that, he starts walking back to his car.

 

Liam shakes his head with a sad sigh. If only he knew.

 

But instead of arguing, because he knows he’ll never win, he climbs in Louis’ cramped Porsche. It’s completely dark outside, with a few stars in the sky, and Liam’s scared for his life because Harry’s going to be at this party and he doesn’t know what to expect. What if he tries to talk to him? What if he isn’t mad anymore? No, fuck that, he just wants to make his life a living hell. What does Louis even see in Harry? Sure, they’re not dating, but – “So Li, what’s your curfew?” Louis interrupts his thoughts as he flicks on his right blinker.

 

He scoffs, “I don’t have a curfew.”

 

Louis smirks and straightens up in his seat, “Yeah, okay, I’ll believe it. What time would you want to leave then? I can’t drink ‘cause I got my expo tomorrow so I can take you home whenever.”

 

Liam nods with thanks, and before he knows it, they’re pulling up at Zayn’s house. Louis offers him a reassuring smile, knowing how nervous he is about being here, and his mind clicks with an idea.

 

“One sec,” he swings the driver’s door open. When he steps out, he has to pull down his dress to make sure it doesn’t ride up, and puts the seat down to reach for something in the back. He bends down in a way that Liam thinks is illegal, pulling a Ziploc bag from under the seat. He carefully opens the bag, taking one of the white pills out to show Liam, “Take this. It’ll help you relax.”

 

Liam chokes, looking at the pill with fearful eyes, “You take ecstasy?” He would’ve never thought Louis would be that type, especially if he’s in a sport where they drug test you every month.

 

“On good days,” Louis shrugs like it’s no big deal. He wants to laugh at Liam’s innocence, because really what kind of senior are you if you haven’t got high  _once_? “But c’mon, it’s not gonna hurt you. Look,” Louis places the pill on his tongue and closes his mouth. Liam gapes. “See? I’m fine.”

 

“You’re not gonna be fine when the effects take over,” Liam scolds him, and Louis rolls his eyes.

 

“Li, just take it. I don’t want to deal with a whiney bitch all night, okay? I could’ve just left you at home to be a loser but I decided to be a good friend and drag you here. If you didn’t get the news already, everyone is laughing at you! You need to show them you aren’t someone to be stepped on, now shut up and just take it.” He hastily digs into the bag and pulls out another. Liam bites his lip, and with shaking fingers, he brings up a hand to take the pill from his irritated friend. He shouldn’t give into peer pressure – he knows this is such a bad idea. But he can’t say no with Louis breathing down his shoulder, it’ll only make him look more like a wimp.

 

So he doesn’t think about it, and pulls the pill on his tongue.

 

Louis’s mood instantly changes and he smiles with pride. Patting Liam on the head once, and waits until Liam swallows before taking his own pill out of his mouth. But Liam doesn’t see him do it – because he can’t get high, he has an expo tomorrow, duh – and throws it to the grass. “Okay, let’s go!”

        

Liam stays seated in the passenger seat, blinking rapidly with his fingers clawing at his thighs. His vision starts seeing double, and his breathing picks up. The black interior of Louis’ Porsche begins flashing colors, and he scrambles out of the passenger’s seat to land on the grass. Louis smiles as Liam starts yelling at the car saying it’s in a plot with the government to take his family.

 

Yeah, he remembers his first time - it wasn’t pretty. But in about ten minutes Liam will be good. Should be at least.

 

-o-

 

“Fuck Harry stop," Louis' back hits the bed with a soft 'omf', not having time to squirm away before Harry straddles his hips. The captain dives down to his neck, licking a strip from his collarbone to the shell of his ear, coaxing it and gently blowing cool air after when it was wet. "Haz," Louis groans in frustration, gripping Harry's bicep tightly.

 

"What Lou?" Harry slurs, the booze from the party kicking into his speech. He only had four beers and a couple of shots - he's not that drunk. "You want this,"

 

Louis breathes out, squeezing his mouth shut to stop the moan from escaping his lips as Harry sucks on his neck. He starts to feel a hard dick rubbing against his leg, his own growing with every dip and swirl of tongue attached to his body. "I have - I can't tonight," it's not like he  _doesn't_  want to have sex - he  _can't_  because the first cheering expo is tomorrow. Eleanor and Tiffany would be furious if he's waddling around and barely able to do a simple split.

 

“Fuck, why?” Harry whines like a toddler as he ruts against the boy underneath him.

 

"One reason," Louis licks his lips and Harry almost glares he's so attractive, "I don't owe you any sex. Second, I have the expo tomorrow and I don't feel like having to deal with your dick being in my arse to help me mess up my dance,"

 

"I think you'll live," lowering his head, their lips connect. Harry's tongue darts out to run along the cheerleader's bottom lip. He hesitates but Louis rolls his eyes and opens his mouth. The smaller boy's dainty fingers come to wrap around Harry's neck, pulling him impossibly closer as the kiss deepens.

 

Digging his head back further against the bed, Louis moves away and pants for air while Harry moves his mouth back down to his jaw. "How about we just go home yeah? I'll drive."

 

"The puck slut passing up the opportunity to get laid? Never thought I'd see that in million years," Harry chuckles darkly, nibbling lightly then applying sweet pressure to Louis' collarbone by lapping his tongue.

 

Gritting his teeth, the smaller boy blows out through his nose forcibly. Usually, the comment has him laughing and thinking back to the day when the nickname started – and how Niall insisted because he likes hockey that it makes him a ‘puck slut’ – but the boy sounds irritating.

 

"I have an idea," Harry smiles wickedly (or the closest to it). Lolling his head to the side to peer at the bedside table, he reaches out his right hand to pull open the drawer. On his first attempt, he hits his hand to the wood, making both boys giggle. With his second try, he slides the drawer open and fetches a red (or cheery flavored) lube bottle.

 

Louis stops laughing, face turning serious when he notices Harry grabbing the lube but not condoms. "I said I'm not doing anything-"

 

"My dick isn't going to be in your arse, but I'm still going to need this unless you want a rash," Harry sits up on the boy's thighs. Their hard dicks rub together to remind both boys they are still wearing clothes that  _desperately_ need removal. Without speaking, Harry sets aside the bottle and starts working to unbutton his jeans. Once popped open, he slides his pants off and throws his shirt to the ground.

Louis wiggles underneath him, giving the boy a pleading look that tells him to help him undress. Complying, Harry teasingly slides his fingers up Louis’ exposed thighs to the hem of his kitten dress. When they went to the mall, Harry ended up finding the shortest kitten dress on the face of the planet, and Louis got him an American football uniform. Harry ended up not wearing the shoulder pads anyway, and he stripped his jersey an hour into the party, leaving Louis in his dress. He even went to the extent of drawing whiskers on his cheeks with eyeliner.

 

Louis nibbles on his lip and shivers from the touch.

 

With careful fingers, Harry starts sliding the dress up to reveal tight boxers. “Is it possible to fuck you into this?” Harry smoothes his thumb across the soft material. Louis whines, and with one swift motion he pulls off the dress. With an amused chuckle, Harry fixes the kitten ears that got knocked off the boy’s head, “This is definitely staying on,”

 

“You like cats that much, huh?” Louis jokes.

 

“You know what would be even better?”

 

Louis seems to read his mind. With his eyes big with innocence, he tilts his head to the side and lets out a soft ‘meow’.

 

“Fuck,” Harry growls, diving down and roughly kissing his lips. Louis squeezes his fingers into Harry’s wide hips, enjoying how desperate the captain grinds against him. Louis laughs in the kiss – Harry has the weirdest kinks, he swears. Harry gets back to ripping Louis’ clothes off, and his boxers are hastily removed in the heated snog.

 

"I've never done this before but it looked so hot in the porno I need to try it," They are now naked together, both of their sweating bodies pressing against each other causing more need of friction.

 

The smaller boy gets somewhat -but why should he, he isn't dating him or anything- jealous of the idea of Harry jerking off to some strangers on the Internet, "Porn huh? I hope it was at least-"

 

"Gay. Yeah. The guy looked like you too and I just-" Harry moans at just the thought of how the boy in the video was bent over a chair and fucked by his partner - he wonders if Louis will let him be that rough. "Fuck," he shakes his head, needing to focus on who is laying under him – the porn can wait.

 

"Harry? Are you-  _oh shit_!" both boys slightly jump to see Niall staring at them with a shocked expression at the doorway. Scanning the scene, with Louis still wearing his kitten ears and his eyeliner whiskers smudged on his cheeks, Niall licks his lips nervously, "I- um. Okay I'm sorry," flicking his eyes in confusion between the two, Niall tries to outstretch his hand to touch the door handle but misses in his drunken state.

 

"Why don't you join us Niall?" Louis pushes Harry off, propping himself up on his elbows - his dick on full display for the boy. "Come on, I don't bite - unless you want me to of course," he winks as the blonde boy goes a deep shade of red, innocently trying not to look at Louis' cock but failing miserably. Louis’s always wanted to fuck an Irish, but it’s pretty hard to find a hot one when he lives in the Britain.

 

"I - I was just coming in here to make sure Harry was still at the party." For a second, Niall pries his eyes away from the cheerleader to look at the also naked captain.

 

"Well you found me, thanks Niall - you can leave now." Watching the blonde player looking at Louis is making him feel jealous for some reason - but come on it's  _Niall_  it's not like he likes Louis. Right? But Harry has always been a jealous drunk, if not that he can be very rowdy.

 

"Stop being possessive," Louis rolls his eyes, sitting up to be closer to Harry's face to make sure he holds eye contact. Smiling sweetly, he sees out of the corner of his eye Niall hasn't moved. Harry shrugs as a response, looking his teammate straight in eye before leaning in to smash his lips with Louis.

 

The kiss grows more heated, and Niall coughs awkwardly as he backs out of the room with a mumbled goodbye.

 

"You really need to remember we aren't dating and I could go fuck Niall if I want to," Louis laughs when Harry growls in return, and the taller boy moves down to suck on his neck instead.

 

"Mine." Harry bites down hard enough to leave a big hickey where everyone could see, "only mine." Louis sucks in a breath, digging his fingernails in Harry's neck from the slight pain. "Say it." Harry stinks his teeth hard enough to draw blood. "You're mine,"

 

"Fine!" Louis pushes the boy off, looking him with amused expression, "I'm yours." Smirking while twirling his fingers in Harry's curls, Louis looks at the boy with two raised eyebrows, "now where were we again?"

 

Eyes going dark, Harry licks his lips, "Flip over." he says in a low seducing voice that makes Louis forget he's suppose to be questioning what exactly they’re doing and obeys the command. Right now - with Harry's naked body pressed against him - he doesn't care if they fuck and he spreads his legs. "I need you to close them for me babe,"

 

Craning his neck to look backwards, Louis' eyebrows knit together in confusion, "Keep them together?"

 

"Do you trust me?" without missing a beat, the cheerleader nods, still a bit confused. "Okay then lock your ankles," Harry lifts himself up to manually lock the ankles, pressing his hands to signal for them to stay compacted. He watches how Louis’ arse squeezes together, with his back muscles tightening to do as he says, and chews on the inside of his mouth. "Squeeze your legs, keep them together as tightly as you can and don't go weak on me,"

 

Louis nods, doing as the boy asks and locking his legs. He looks back up to the headboard, hearing Harry starting to work his hand on his own dick to get it hard. Grabbing the lube again, he clicks the top open and applies a generous amount to his aching cock. "Haz I still don't understand what you're doing,"

 

"You'll see in a second," grabbing the base of his cock, Harry lines it up to the smallest of openings right below Louis' arse where the skin meets his two legs. Praying he's doing this right, he nudges his tip in the pathway. Louis wrinkles his nose and is about to question what he's doing again - but his thoughts are cut short as the boy thrusts into the small space underneath his arse. He involuntarily tightens his bum cheeks, hands flying out to claw at the sheets at the new feeling. Harry moans when he feels his tip brush against the mattress, his whole length long enough to reach. Not needing to get adjusted, the captain pulls his dick out and rams back into the hole.

 

Louis breaks out into a pornographic moan, eyes rolls back to his skull as he feels the dick slide out. This feeling is... different. It's not burning from stretch or hitting a prostate. Now he understands what everyone fusses about this because - " _Fuck_ ," he throws his head back, doing his best to make sure his legs are squeezed together - the tighter the better Harry's dick feels pounding into him. It doesn't even hurt! It feels the fucking same as if it were in his arse but with no pain or in the slightest discomfort.

 

"Holy shit this feels so good," Harry braces himself by putting one hand on each side of Louis's head, his pleasure twisting his facial expression, "shit."

 

Louis pries his hand away from the clumped up sheets, bending his elbow down to clamp at Harry's wrist, which is right near his ear. He whines low in his throat, the football player getting what he's implying and takes Louis’ hand in his own. It's a sweet gesture that makes the smaller boy almost smile but his mouth is too busy hanging open and moaning to force himself to grin. Harry increases his pace so he is mercifully fucking - not really at the same time - that's the best part because he can go as deep and hard as he wants and not hurt Louis.

 

“You’re my pussy aren’t you?” Harry whispers in the boy’s ear as he fucks him, drawing out his words to send shivers up Louis’ spine. “I’m fucking your pussy so good, so wet, so so wet for me. You like being called my pussy? ‘Cause you’re mine, and no one can fuck my pussy like me.” Louis moans as the bed shakes with Harry’s thrusts. For some odd, bizarre reason, he loves how Harry calls him his pussy. And it’s not like he’s wrong, a pussy is another word for cat – much like the costume he’s wearing.

 

Louis feels his lower stomach coiling with heat - his orgasm approaching. Harry feels the same, his thrusts becoming sloppy as his body starts to shake. Forcing himself out of the hole, he aims his dick to Louis' back and screams while his cum squirts out in white ribbons to paint the tanned skin. Usually, he could last longer, but whenever he drinks it always cuts the self-control he has.

        

The smaller boy cums seconds later, keeping his mouth shut as he relaxes his legs.

 

The taller boy remains up right, panting to regain his breathe and staring glass-eyed at his cum dripping down Louis' bare back. It looks so delicious - his own cum looking so fucking  _delicious_ when it's painted the cheerleader's back all he wants to do is lick it up.

 

Louis makes a move to flip over, but halts with the feeling of Harry's tongue licking his back and his chest arches. The cum he originally felt was being mopped off by Harry's wet tongue - he can't see it but it feels fantastic. Harry does figure eights around the spine, alternating between cat licking and flattening his tongue. Every now and then, the captain would drop his mouth to the dip of Louis' back, teasing him by going very close to his arse.

 

Louis whines, wiggling his bum up so it hits up against Harry's chest. A huge hand comes to grip one cheek, pushing him back into the mattress, "Easy," Harry purrs, caressing the cheek, loving how desperate Louis is becoming under his touch.

 

" _Harry_ ," Louis doesn't know why he keeps repeating the name, his mind clouded as his oversensitive dick becomes hard once again.

 

Harry smirks, opening the cheeks and blowing in-between the crack, making sure the cold air hits the pink hole. "What do you want baby? Tell me and I'll do it," leaning so his nose brushes the soft skin of his arse, he leaves a soft kiss right above the hole.

 

"You -" Louis breathes, trying to calm himself enough to speak. "I- just - just  _do_  something. Stop teasing,"

 

"Teasing? What are you talking about?" Harry asks in mock confusion. Smiling at the annoyed noise Louis makes, be continues "Just tell me exactly what you want," he flicks his tongue, earning a gasp from the boy, "and I’ll do it."

 

"Just-" Louis sucks in another breath, gulping slightly.

 

"Say it."

 

He muffles something inaudible into the sheets. Harry asks him to repeat it in an angelic voice. Louis groans, spinning his head around and looking the boy dead in the eye, "Eat me out."

 

Not having to be told twice, Harry spreads open the cheeks - licking one strip along the whole crack. Louis moans, the sheets underneath him bunching up with his fists. He's still sensitive from his first orgasm and his dick hurts. Harry wraps his arms around Louis’ thighs, and licks deeper into him. He can hear Louis’s weak sounds of protest, but it isn’t quite enough to keep him from teasing his tongue around the pink skin of the younger boy’s hole.

 

Becoming more impatient with himself than anything else, Harry can't hold it anymore and shoves his tongue straight into the hole. The smaller boy yelps in surprise, relaxing his arse muscles so the tongue can lick out his opening with ease. Twisting and retracting his wet muscle, Harry works his hand under the sheets to grab Louis' once again hard dick. Pumping his hand along with his tongue, Louis is a sweating mess. He's breathing erratically and his voice his straining from the moans he has been letting out. "Your tongue-" he chokes, trying to praise Harry but is too busy enjoy the pleasure running up his spine.

 

"I'm gonna-" Louis moans when Harry drives his tongue deeper then usual, "Oh god- I'm gonna cum,"

 

"Cum for me Lou," either Harry's hot breath against his wet hole or how low he whispered that sentence has his dick twitching. With Harry rubbing his thump over his slit, Louis cums for the second time that night. Only a few drops squirt out this time, already dry from his first orgasm.

 

Harry collapses on the boy, with his head resting on the swell of Louis' back.

 

"You're so hot like this," Harry praises, kissing Louis' back all the way up to his neck. Once his mouth gently nips at the whimpering boy's ear, he flips Louis over. He looks so tired and messy, but Harry kisses him on the nose adding, "so perfect,"

 

A light tint of pink appears on Louis' cheeks. The two boys locked gazes, Harry's hands resting on the cheerleader's still naked hips.

 

"Louis," the captain breaks the silence, "I don't want to go home tonight without being able to call you my boyfriend." He snaps his mouth shut, internally cursing himself. Fuck, he was supposed to do that in a more romantic way, right? He was suppose to take Louis out to dinner or maybe ask him in a way that makes Louis blush – like in the movies – but not after they just finished fucking. So he sucks in a breath, waiting for an answer.

 

Groaning audibly – which crushes Harry’s heart in a matter of a second - Louis responds, "Why do we need labels? Why isn't this good enough for you?" Louis doesn't like talking about this subject - Harry knows that by now.

 

"I don't like the idea of you doing this with another guy."

 

"Hazzaa," Louis whines, clutching to Harry's forearm, "stop. I don't want to talk about this right now."

 

"But I need to know why you don't want to date me."

 

"Because I-" Louis rolls his eyes, "that's not your business."

 

"Do you like me?"

 

"Of course I do –"

 

"Then be my boyfriend."

 

"For the last time - I don't like you like that." Louis rolls away from the boy, getting up to retrieve his clothes. "So no," pulling on his dress, Louis makes his way to the door. It feels like the millionth time he's had to reject the boy. The deal was Harry would stop asking - well he guesses with the sex it means he's entitled to something.

 

"Don't do this again Lou," Harry pleas, bouncing off the bed still naked, "don't walk away from me."

 

"Goodnight Harry," not looking Harry in the eyes, he pecks him on the cheek and exits the bedroom. He's like a butterfly, beautiful as he sits on a flower, but with a few beats of his wings, he's gone. Even as he goes, the flutter of his wings holds a claim on him - and worst - his heart. He leaves Harry standing alone wondering why he let himself fall this deep, for a relationship he knows he cannot have.


	15. chapter xiv

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> louis and liam start to become closer as friends

His heart hurts. It's like a car compacter ripped his heart out of his chest and threw it into the machine to be pulverized and crushed to tiny pieces of grain. Then, when it was grounded into grain, it was scattered into a fire to burn with the flames floating in the sky to absolutely nowhere but the nothingness that is the sky.

 

His emotions are scattered as if a deck of cards was thrown careless to the floor. He's sad - so sad that his frown starts to hurt his face. He feels humiliated, having been left alone - _naked_  - to stare at the door wishing Louis would come back. He feels used, and he's never felt that.

 

Not once has he been used,  _he_  was the one who used people. He used them for sex, or for their brain to help him with schoolwork he didn't feel like doing, and he'd laugh when their backs were turned. They always gave in so easily, naturally because of his greats looks and lean body.

 

But this? This is pure evil. Louis  _knew_ he had feelings for him. He pulled his strings like a puppet, a dumb puppet that has no control over its own mind. Louis manipulated his heart, his mind - just about everything.

 

As he walks home from Zayn's party, the his thoughts jump around in a matter that makes him angry he's can't understand what he wants to think. He  _wants_  to be angry, he  _wants_  to feel relieved that he doesn't have to try with Louis anymore - but then he doesn't.

 

He lets the anger sweep through him, like a wave of lightening, and starts to sprint. It’s late, some trick-or-treaters still mull around in their costumes, and they all stare as he rushes by. The wind in his ears blocks anyone and anything out, letting his mind clear with less noise to bother him. His legs begin to clam, but he throws caution to the wind in order to arrive home. He almost runs into a little toddler, but he opens his eyes at the last moment to sway out of the way. He doesn’t say sorry, preferring to let his muscles scream for a break, but he’s already a mile down and he’s not stopping now.

 

With his throat gasping for air, Harry arrives at his front gates. He’s too winded to speak through the speaker, instead banging on the darn thing until Jeffery yells at him to stop. He can’t hear what he screams back over his own beating heart rate, but the gates slowly open. The pavement of the driveway scrapes under his feet, and the noise makes him angrier.

 

He’s a whole ball of rage. His veins feel as if they’re about to pop from all the blood rushing through them. His eyes are red rimmed and watery because he didn’t realize he’d been crying the whole run home.

 

No one’s home, luckily, because he knows he would’ve done something regretful if he ran into anyone right now. He needs time to breath, to just think to him.

 

He goes to the only room in the house that is his own. The one where there’s a lock on the door, forbidding entrance to all but him. This is his room, not his bedroom, but the room he hasn’t shown  _anyone_  in his whole life. It’s black - pure black walls, furniture, and bed – for the darkness brings him a sort of peace.

 

There’s holes scattered along the walls, each unique and hold a different story. He could look at each one and tell the reason of it. And he stares a fresh spot, fists clenching at his sides in anticipation.

 

With his mind jumping and his heart racing, he screams. He screams for his broken heart, for all the times he’s turned to violence for his actions, and lets his fist create a new hole in the wall. 

 

-o-

 

“They broke up,” Melina sings as she joins her friends in gym. Mary and Lacy squint their eyes in confusion, having been talking but Melina rudely interrupted them. Lacy opens her mouth to ask whom, but Melina quickly adds, “Louis and Harry. They’re done. Over. No more.”

 

Turning completely to face her friend, Mary’s mouth drops open, “Shut up!” she squeals, but lowers her voice when people look at her weirdly, “How do you know?”

 

“Yeah, how do you know?” Lacy glares accusingly – a hint of annoyance laced her tone. Melina is such a fake bitch. Before she came waltzing over to interrupt her and Mary’s conversation, Mary was telling her that someone told Jack that she cheated on him – with Landon of all people! And when she heard that, Lacy instantly knew it was Melina. She’s always been jealous of her – her relationships, her looks, her grades – but she’s not totally sure so she bites her tongue.

 

“Well I know for a fact that something happened on Friday ‘cause Tiffany was talking about it in the hallway. She was saying how Louis ran out of the party but he brought Liam? And Liam was high so he apparently crawled up on Zayn’s roof and slept there. But anyway, Harry came down stairs after Louis left and then  _he_  ran off, and Tiffany said he looked like he’d been crying.”

 

Mary’s eyes go wide, “Are you serious? Oh my god, Harry never cries! What did Louis do?”

 

“I’m sure he didn’t do anything,” Lacy spits and crosses her arms.

 

“Yeah, fuck that,” Melina snorts, “Harry probably caught him fucking some other guy and Louis ran off. I swear, I don’t even know how he’s friends with Zayn and them. He invited  _Liam_  to the party, like, out of all the people you bring a –“

 

“Would you shut up!” Lacy snaps, her voice rising above all others in the gym. The whole freshman class goes quiet, and she continues, “You’re so annoying, you know that? You think you can talk shit about people behind their backs and then expect them to be alright with it!” she completely switches the subject, “I know you’re the one who told Jack that I cheated on him with Landon – which I didn’t – but you’re so jealous of me that need to make up rumors! Sorry I’m not a fat ass that sits at home on a stupid website. Sorry I have friends. The only reason  _you_  have friends is because of me!”

 

Mary tries to calm her by placing a hand on her shoulder, but Lacy flinches away from the touch. She chooses to stop, and with one cold glare, she flicks her blonde hair and marches out of the gym.

 

-o-

 

"I don't know, I guess." Louis wipes a hand over his face, his mind not ready to discuss this topic right now. He doesn't do this. He hates talking about feelings or emotions; it gives him a headache.

 

Liam just shrugs, taking a swing from his water bottle. "Why do you feel like you don’t need to eat? It's not healthy."

 

Giving the friend a cold glare, he informs him to drop the subject. He does eat, but not the cafeteria food. Liam seems to think he just doesn't eat at all, and it's annoying. He's not skinny and buff like Liam. His stomach has the littlest bit of fat he is dying to rid himself of. It's always been there, but he promised himself it would be gone by the end of high school.

 

He dares to glance over to Harry’s table, and immediately regrets it. Harry’s staring at him with sad, puppy dog eyes, but when Louis looks over he quickly turns away. The whole table is quiet, even Zayn and Niall. Eleanor can’t look at him, because they all know  _something_  happened on Friday. They don’t know exactly what, but Harry and Louis haven’t talked to each other all day.

 

And that’s never happen.

 

Even in the far beginning of school, there would always be a sentence thrown in between the two or a playful exchange of shoves. But Louis and Harry have been avoiding each other through all their classes and at lunch Louis sat with Liam.

 

Liam’s a little pissed at Louis, because he left him in the middle of the party and he woke up with someone yelling at him to get off the roof. He doesn’t remember what happened, but he didn’t wake up with any bruises or any indications someone hurt him so he considered that a win. He hasn’t been able to go to a proper party in a year and he was worried he would be called out for it. But he’s just grateful he didn’t do anything stupid.

 

“So how was your expo thing?” Liam asks after a short pause.

 

“We got first,” Louis tears his gaze away from Harry’s table and smiles with pride, “the judges gave us extra points ‘cause of my helicopter so we beat the others teams by at least ten each. The next one is in, like, a month or so. You should come,”

 

“I’ll see if I can,” Liam nods, “but I personally think cheerleading is a bit boring.”

 

Louis holds his heart, “That hurts, Li. I’m truly offended.”

With another look to Harry - who's still staring at him like he's trying to figure out a math problem - Louis can't take it anymore. "Can we go somewhere?" Liam gives him a skeptical look, but nods nonetheless.

Liam surprisingly had a mustang sitting in the parking lot, but in the way back where no one was. Louis frowns as they walk, but soon erases it when Liam starts talking.

He's wearing a batman shirt today, with some tight jeans that make Louis' mouth go dry. Why does Liam have to be so attractive? Usually, he would look at people who wear superhero clothes with disgust, but Liam's muscles bulge through the short sleeves with his abs defined with the black that make him want to - fuck.

He hops into Liam's old silver mustang, watching as the boy plays around with the radio until music comes through the speakers.

"So where are we going?" Louis buckles his seat belt because Liam gave him a look so he has to listen.

"Wendy's," he easily pulls out of the cramped space of the parking lot and drives onto the road, "my mum should be working right now, she can get us free food."

"Your mum works at Wendy's?" he narrows his eyes, "like as a cashier?"

Liam peers over to him like he has four heads. "Oh," he realizes Louis isn't joking, "Oh, I never told you? My parents own the Wendy's of southern Britain, like, my dad is basically the overall boss of marketing. My mum is a traveling manager, and she's in Cheshire for a month before he has to leave again."

"Wow," Louis' eyes go wide, "So you're, like -" _rich_ he wants to say but doesn't want to sound like he's a guy who only looks for that in someone, "- powerful?"

"Yeah, um, a little bit?" Liam self-consciously scratches the back of his neck. "I live on Princeton Ave, but not a lot of people don't come to my house anymore so they wouldn't know I live on the same street as Harry."

Louis' mouth drops open a bit, "You live on the same street? Fuck, those houses are huge."

"Yeah," he laughs, and he wants to mention how him and Harry grew up together, but he holds off on it.

-o-

"Do you ever wonder if dogs get offended with the stereo types humans put on them?" Louis picks up the plastic fork given to him, looking over his salad to decide which part to eat first. He _made sure_ to get chicken on it so Liam wouldn't suspect he doesn't eat.

Liam sips on his frosty shake and wrinkles his nose, "Depends... what do you mean?" Louis want to say something about Liam drinking a shake that _has_ to be around a thousand calories but lets it slides because he's already so fit. But it's not fair how Liam can drink stuff like that and still be all muscles.

So Louis shakes it off and continues with his own salad, "Like that thing with the mailmen, do you really think they hate all of them?" One of the salad pieces gets stuck in his teeth, so he brings up his pinky to pick it out.

"Probably it's because most of the mailmen provoke them," he shrugs.

He takes a moment to think about an answer, "But if I was a dog I'd chase the garbage man."

"Why?"

Considering this, Louis points to the trash, "Because he's stealing food that's perfectly fine but thinks it needs to go to a dump!" Liam looks back to the Wendy's trash, then back to Louis with a bewildered smile.

"Well - I," he doesn't know what to say, and his hesitance makes Louis want to hug him, "It's not the garbage's mans fault?"

"Yes it is! He _could_ be a good guy and leave it for me."

"What?" Liam laughs all small and cute, not loud and confident like Harry. Wait, fuck, why is he thinking about Harry? "You're ridiculous."

Louis smiles, "How am I ridiculous?"

"You're stereotyping dogs for hating on garbage men just because they need food! What if they don't want food?"

"What would they want?" Louis counters back. He's only eaten three pieces of salad, but Liam doesn't notice.

"Cats. Squirrels."

"That's another stereotype! You're horrible!"

Liam points a finger in defense, "At least I'm not saying dogs would eat garbage."

"It's not garbage if it's only half eaten," Liam gives him a disgusted face. Louis snorts, but with a poke on the cheek - where Harry's dimple would be - Liam smiles.

"What about the stereotype that they're mean?"

With a tilt of his head, Louis nods in agreement, "Well they can be mean. It all depends on the owner."

"Okay, so if it was owned by a celebrity in Beverly Hills that gets pampered everyday, how would they act?"

"Like adorable angels that have more expensive clothing than me and they're nails painted bright pink."

"Hypocrite! You're a hypocrite! Not all dogs in Beverly Hills are treated like that."

"Oh stop," Louis giggles, putting his fork down. He mindlessly fixes his hair, so the fringe doesn't cover his eyes so he can have a good look at Liam. "You name me _one_ dog that's normal with people like Paris Hilton living there."

"I can't -"

"Ha!" Louis interrupts him.

But Liam continues, " - I can't. But what about if they're too big to be carried around in pocketbooks?"

"Then I'm sorry for them." By now, Louis' salad is completely forgotten. His phone buzzes next to it, and 'Haz' pops up on the screen. If Liam noticed, he doesn't say anything. Louis sinks in his chair, not sure if he should check it or not, and decides against it. He likes this time he's spending with Liam, Harry can't ruin that.

And being the sweet guy he is, Liam notices Louis go cold so he continues, "You're saying you would like to be carried around?"

"Who wouldn't?" Louis flips the phone over so he can't see the screen, "Imagine not having to walk _anywhere,_ having a custom pool built right next to the normal human one, and having champaign instead of water!"

"That's so not true."

"Go watch TLC I'm sure there's a show on the dogs of Beverly Hills. They already have one on stupidly spoiled little girls that are in fucking pageants when they're babies -"

"Toddlers and Tiaras is my favorite show!" Liam holds a hand over his heart, and Louis looks at him like he's crazy.

"Liam I don't know how to respond to that."

"You can stop lying to yourself and admit you love it."

"I don't, though."

"You have two little sisters, I know they've made you watch it."

He goes to laugh, but there's another buzz from his phone. Louis bites his nail, now worried something happened. "Doesn't mean I love it," he half heartedly teases back.

Liam frowns like a puppy when he sees Louis worried, "You do."

"Nope," he shakes his head.

"Yes," he pokes Louis' side.

Louis sighs, but smiles because it tickles, _"No."_

_"No."_

"Yes!" Then he realizes what he did, "fuck! Liam you just used an eight year old trick on me to make me say yes." He shoves him in return. But he's fully smiling again, and it's different having a guy trying to make him happy.

He's not sure if he likes it.

"It worked." Liam looks so smug but charming at the same time.

"Fine, okay I like it. I don't _love_ it but it's interesting to watch."

"I only started watching it because my cousin forced me too."

"Yeah, sure," Louis smirks.

"It's true!"

"Liam you don't have to lie to me. I admit I saw it when I was channel surfing and ended up watching it voluntarily."

"No, I'm not lying. My little cousin wanted me to see her friend that was featured and it made me laugh."

Louis nods again, and gets up to collect his not even half eaten salad. Liam doesn't comment, bless him, and as he walks away to throw it away, he smiles a little to himself. He loves Liam's company. It's times like these he doesn't need to care about how he looks, when Liam is trying to get to know him.

And he definitely likes it.

So with a dance in his step, he gets back to the table and sits on Liam's side instead. "I always try and predict who will win the grand supreme," he brings back the old topic.

"Me too!" Liam doesn't jump when Louis is suddenly next to him, meaning he's getting comfortable. And Louis takes that as a win.

"Settle down, Liam. No need to get jumpy in the middle of Wendy's."

"Oh, yeah, 'cause there's so many people in here," to make a point, he looks around.

"Hey! That old man over in the far corner does not appreciate that."

"I bet he didn't appreciate it when you flicked that fry into his hood."

"But now he can find a snack for later! I just brightened his day, thank you very much," Louis turns closer to Liam, and now the only thing separating them is a foot of air.

"What if he's allergic to potato?"

"Then I accidentally just killed someone."

"And you say that so casually."

"Because he's eating fries right now so I know he's not allergic."

Liam looks over to the man, and sure enough he's scarfing down two fries at once. "Touche."

"You said it wrong."

"No I didn't." Liam moves a bit closer just to defend himself.

"It's touch-é." He puts extra emphasis on the 'é'.

"Well I say touche."

"It's like you're saying douche but with a 't' and it's wrong!"

Liam pouts, "Leave me alone."

"I was just correcting you," he pats the boy on the thigh, but doesn't move his hand.

Sticking out his tongue, Liam laughs airily. "We should head back."

"But I'm having so much fun," Louis whines, "Why can't I just stay with you forever?"

Liam looks a bit confused, but it turns to joy when he knows Louis isn't being sarcastic like everyone else.

Evidently, Louis has to check his phone when they are settled back in the car.

To: Louis

From: Haz

you forgot your shoes at zayns house

That's all from Harry. And Louis wants to rolls his eyes because Zayn could've told him that. And the second one is from Tiffany.

To: Louis

From: Tiffany

where did you go for lunch?

-o- 

It’s raining outside by the time school ends, meaning the cheerleaders and football players have to share the gym for practice. If the day was awkward, having to change in the locker room would have to be the worst part of Louis’ day. He feels as if the whole football team is staring at him while he changes, making him feel extremely uncomfortable. Especially when Harry’s locker is only five away from his. Niall makes it somewhat better, and he chats with him as they change. Louis doesn’t laugh that much, but he smiles when the blonde tries to make a joke about how quiet he is. On the way to the exit, of course, he bumps into Harry.

 

The captain steps back, keeping his head down, to let Louis pass. Louis scans his body and notices a white bandage on Harry’s right hand where his knuckles are. He wants to ask what happened, but he bites the inside of his cheek and continues walking out.

 

He moves with the beats of the bass. His legs kick with enthusiasm with his smile shining as bright as the stage lights. The cheer team mimics the front, and creates a wave effect as the captains flip in the air.

 

He claps once, twice, and then smacks his thighs to single for a new position. Eleanor steps out of his way in time for him to side step to his stunt group. Courtney smiles at him like she always does, to reassure him before a big stunt, and he stands in between his bases. The two girls bend their knees, cupping their hands for Louis to step in. He grips the two bases’ innermost shoulder, allowing Courtney to wrap her hands around his exposed hips. As the chorus of the song speeds up, he bounces one foot into the hand on his right, then his left. His bases lift him, and when he’s up in a regular, Courtney let’s Louis’ body slide up her fingers to grasp his ankles instead. Louis locks his knees to keep his balance, managing to keep his huge smile across his face. He swings his arms up to a high V, and as the chorus starts to pick up, his bases use all their strength to reach him up into an extension. Courtney helps them but securing their wrists.

 

An empty water bottle flies from the football side of the practice gym and hits one of Louis’ bases hard in the stomach. It was meant to land in the trash, but nonetheless she cries from the surprise strike and loses her handle on Louis’ foot. She tries to recover, only for Louis to accidently kick her in the chest. The second base wobbles with his loss of balance, and Courtney prepares to catch Louis but he begins to fall forward.

 

Everything seems to slow in Louis’ mind, from being in a full extension, then watching the floor grow closer to his body in one swift motion. The whole gym holds their breath as Louis’ body connects with the mat, and Tiffany screams from where she’s up in her stunt.

 

Eleanor hears the scream, and secures her hold on Lily to check what’s going on. The music cuts just as Louis cries out. His almost bare body smacks hard enough to bruise, but there was no crunch of bones. The impact of the mat to his head causes him to pass out instantly.

 

Then it all goes black. 


	16. chapter xv

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Louis has to deal with his injury

"It's just a sprained ankle, I don't need crutches they're annoying as hell."

 

The school nurse, his neighbor he's grown to know over the months at being at Cheshire, shoots him a pointed look. Going over to the corner of the office, she fetches the crutches, "Louis it's not my decision. Your doctor advised you not to put any pressure on it for the next few days, so you have to listen."

 

Louis shifts on the uncomfortable paper, "I can walk by myself."

 

"Really, huh?" She smirks, "Okay. Go to class then." Setting the crutches back to the corner, she sits back down at her desk.

 

Louis bites his lip, "I will."

 

Everything below his ankle is wrapped. Yesterday, after he passed out after the fall, he was rushed to the hospital to find out only his ankle was sprained. His mom  _insisted_  for him to be brought in a wheel chair home and then she drove him into school early so he can get crutches from the nurse’s office. He hated how much she fussed over a simple sprain but allowed her to baby him a little because they've been fighting more often than usual. The least he can do it let her make sure he’s okay.

 

The floor is a good two-foot jump. That’d be no problem if his ankle weren’t sprained. But with the sprain, a small jump like this is even more dangerous. Why does he have to be so short? He swears compared to everyone in this school he’s a midget - especially when he’s standing next to people like Liam.

 

He takes a breath. It’s a two-foot jump, that’s smaller than how tall his sisters are. It should be no problem. He tries to hop down from the table, "Fuck!" and as soon as his ankle hits the floor, it shoots a sharp sting up his whole leg. Not being able to hold himself, he evidently falls to the floor.

 

The nurse silently laughs at him from where she's sitting, but since she's not supposed to take amusement in the students' pain, she helps him up. "How'd that work out for you?"

 

"You knew I would hurt myself yet you still allowed me to jump off," he mumbles, letting her guide him to the crutches on the wall, "you're a horrible nurse."

 

"It's not my fault you didn't listen to me." Louis lets her adjust the screws to his height and settles them under his arms.

 

"I hate them," he whines.

 

"That's not my problem, love. I tried wrapping the top with soft towels so there's not much chafing under your arms, otherwise that's all I can do," she shrugs. He hops alongside her to the door. "Okay, you need to find someone to help you carry your books for the rest of the week. It needs to be someone you share mostly all your classes with, and you get to leave a few minutes before everyone else so you're not stuck in the hallway traffic. Here's the elevator key -"

 

"We have an elevator? Since when?"

 

"It's only used for injured people like you and other staff. Could you imagine this whole school trying to cram into that? Yeah, no." She hands over the key that has a string to wear around your neck, "Please, please Louis, do not lose it or worse give it to someone. Otherwise you'll have to hop up the stairs and that's never fun."

 

"Okay," Louis says slowly and puts the key around his neck. "Okay I think I got all that. Oh - Niall!" The nurse goes back to her desk, and Louis hops over to the blonde who meets him halfway.

 

Niall looks over the crutches and bandage, "Yeah, what's up? You okay from yesterday?"

 

"Yeah," Louis balances on one foot to swipe his fringe to the side, "just a sprained ankle. No biggie. But listen, could you help me carry my books around this week?"

 

"Uh," Niall scratches his head, "I don't have any classes with you besides gym, how would that work?"

 

"Well who else am I suppose to have help me?"

 

"I'm not sure." The first bell rings overhead. "Sorry, I would, but I technically can't. I could help you get to homeroom so I have an excuse and Mrs. Pierce can't write me up for being late."

 

"You're taking advantage of my injury and I don’t appreciate it," Louis starts to hop to his locker to get the first few books of the day.

 

"If I'm late one more time I get detention and Harry gets fucking pissed off if we have to miss practice for that - even worse if it's a game." Niall defends, holding Louis' crutches as he opens his locker.

 

"Harry." Louis whispers and slides his notebook out of the stack. Harry's the only person he shares the most classes with. Well, besides gym and Global TV, but he has Tiffany for those two periods. But would it be weird asking for him to help after what happened Friday?

 

He's about to give Niall his books but someone on his left slips them from his hands.

 

"I heard about your ankle. I blew up on Jacob cause he's the one who threw the water bottle," Harry's voice is in his ear, low and smooth. "I’m really sorry about that."

 

Louis looks at the book in Harry’s hands and nods with a small smile, "Thanks." Without saying anything else, he continues to give Harry books. The tension between them is still thick, but Harry is here because he already knew that Louis would need him.  _And_  he yelled at Jacob for hurting him. That makes Louis think Harry actually cares.

 

"Don't you need to go to your homeroom?" Louis didn't notice Niall left until Harry hands him his crutches instead. He secures them under his arms, hopping next to Harry who's trying to balance all the books he now has to carry.

 

"I told Teach I needed to help you already."

 

"What if I didn't want your help?" Louis teases.

 

Harry's smile loosens and Louis thinks he sees a dimple, "I didn't see anyone else offer."

 

“You probably told them to back off because you missed me so much,” Louis is kidding, Harry knows, but it’s true - painfully so. It’s been three days since they’ve spoken to one another and it’s been slowly killing him.

 

They walk, or rather Louis hops, to homeroom then math. Harry clears the aisles as he tries to get to his seat, and even moves his crutches to the wall when he’s ready. Louis blushes whenever Harry’s hands brush near his, and really why is he acting like this? They’ve been best friends – or rather more than that – for months and he shouldn’t feel shy around him. Who cares if he doesn’t want to date Harry? It shouldn’t effect how they act together in their shared classes.

 

So Louis smiles as he continues to talk to Harry throughout the whole day, knowing if Harry didn’t want him anymore then he wouldn’t have offered to help him.

 

\--

        

“Hello everyone,” Mrs. Pierce, the senior class advisor, announces once all the students are situated in the library on Wednesday. Freshmen, sophomore, junior, and senior classes have been spilt up for a meeting during last period.

 

Louis and Harry are off to the far corner, because Louis had to go to the bathroom so it takes longer with the crutches and they got in when all the seats were taken.

 

The two days Harry’s been helping him haven’t been that bad. Sure, they’ve had to spend every second with one another because Louis can’t do much by himself on crutches, but Harry doesn’t make it awkward by not speaking to him. They still laugh over inside jokes and tease one another when the moment’s right. Louis  _does_ feel Harry’s been a bit more distant, but he’s always had a certain mysterious side to him that Louis couldn’t quite figure out even before Zayn’s party happened.

 

“I have good news and bad news,” Mrs. Pierce continues, “good news is that spirit week starts next next Monday -- so not this upcoming Monday but the one after. We need to hand out shirt order forms and decide who’s doing the activities at the pep rally.” Everyone begins whispering about how excited they are for spirit week and Mrs. Pierce shushes them. “And the bad news… our senior class trip to Italy has been cancelled.”

 

“ _What_?” Everyone in the room gasps, except for Louis.

 

He draws his eyebrows together and whispers to Harry, “What class trip?”

 

“Your mum didn’t get a letter in the mail about it?” he whispers back.

 

“No,” Louis shakes his head, “I didn’t know we had one.” But he goes quiet to continue listening.

 

“Alright, I know, I was the same way as you are when I got the call. Apparently the hotel we booked burned down and they won’t be able to rebuild it by the time we were supposed to leave. So, the question is, we still have all of the money you guys have fundraised – where else do you want to go that is able to take us on short notice?”

 

No one speaks up. They all look disappointed, sad, and just annoyed because the kids who’ve lived in Cheshire their whole life have been dreaming to go to Italy for their senior trip since they were in kindergarten. And on such short notice, there are not many places that could book a whole class of 300 for five days.

 

“What about New York City?” Louis turns to Harry again.

 

“That’s four times the amount for Italy. I would do it, but I don’t think a lot of people could afford it.” He shrugs, it’s not his fault his parents have money.

 

Mrs. Pierce sighs from the front of the room, “Okay. I’ll try to think of something but in the mean time, make sure to tell your parents the price might go up.

 

“Second on the agenda – spirit week.” She slips out a piece of paper from a folder, “The school board changed the days because last year some boys came into school with just their underwear for pajama day,” she glares at Niall who fist bumps Zayn across from him, “so the new line up is... Monday is nerd day, Tuesday is superheroes, Wednesday is twin day, Thursday is opposite day, and of course Friday is school spirit day. It’ll be announced and the student council will put up fliers so you don’t forget. Our color is gold, and Amy designed the shirt for us to order. I’ll be handing out an order form after the meeting, make sure it’s handed in with twenty dollars before next Wednesday. The shirts will be handed out next Friday. So make sure on Friday of spirit week you wear as much gold as possible so we win most school spirited for the third year in a row.”

 

The football team cheers, because in the last three years, they’ve motivated their class to go all out for spirit week – and especially because this is their last one before everyone goes off to university.

 

“I’m sure you guys won’t let us down. Now, to win the ultimate trophy we need to win the pep rally activities. Everyone knows how they work, yeah?” Mostly everyone nods, except for Louis again. In his old schools, spirit week was never taken seriously. “So I just got the list of games from the principal today. Now, we need a boy and a girl for every game to play and you can only do one game. The cheerleaders can participate too, you just have to wear your uniform during the game. I don’t see that being a huge problem ever since you stopped wearing skirts last year, so I expect you girls to help out.

 

“First game that is scheduled is the Balloon Pop. Okay so for this one, you have to put a balloon against your stomach and run into the wall until it pops. Then you have to run to the other side of the gym and do the same with another balloon. The first person that finishes wins for their whole class. Sounds simple, yeah? You have to be fast too. Okay who wants to do it?”

 

“Me!” Niall shoots up out of his chair with his hand raised high in the air. The girls around him giggle. “Mrs. Pierce, pick me! Me! Pick me!”

 

“Fine! Sit down,” Mrs. Pierce laughs and write his name down. “A girl?”

 

This continues on for ten minutes. Louis notices that all of varsity football players are apart of a game, mainly one’s that involves some time of running. Eleanor, Tiffany, and Lily are playing too. But Lily is doing the tricycle race because she’s so small, Tiffany is doing the clothing race (“I can stripe in less then five seconds!” “We all know that!” “Shut  _up_ Tony!”), and Eleanor wanted to help out so she signed up for the tug of war that requires six people instead of two.

 

“Great! Only one more game. This one is the saran wrap race. It’s a new one, and it actually sounds pretty fun. So we need two guys and two girls. One guy and girl have to be really strong, and have to run fast, because that person has to carry the other on their back. The second person will be saran wrapped to their back so they cannot fall off. The whole point of the game is to run around some cones, like an obstacle course, and then they have to unwrap themselves in order to win best time. Does that make sense? A little bit? Well it’ll be more clear at the pep rally. Okay so I need a pair of guys – preferably two that are one big and one small.”

 

In that same second, everyone turns back to stare at Louis and Harry.

 

Louis looks at all of them in confusion on why they’re staring until he realizes why, “Oh no that is  _so_  not happening.”

 

“Come on, Lou!” Tiffany, who’s near the front yells, “You two are perfect for that! You’re tiny and Harry’s strong enough to carry you!”

 

“No!” he protests. Everyone starts whining on how they’d be perfect because Harry is the fastest and strongest football player and Louis is the smallest guy in the grade.

 

Louis sighs and looks at Harry. He wears a smirk on his face. “What’s so funny?”

 

“The way you’re reacting.”

 

“Because that sounds so stupid!”

 

“Lou-is, lou-is, lou-is, lou-is!” Zayn starts to chant, and the whole class joins in. Soon everyone is chanting his name, and he rolls his eyes in defeat.

 

“Fine! Okay I’ll do it!” He huffs when they all cheer. He should mention how his ankle is sprained, but by then he should be more than okay. But the idea of being saran wrapped to another person just sounds gross.

 

“Perfect!” Mrs. Pierce smiles and writes his name, “Harry? You’re doing it with him?”

 

“Of course,” he nods. He’s always been apart of spirit week, and he always wins.

 

“Awesome. Okay now we need a girl pair and we’re all set.”

 

\--

 

“I heard something about you and Liam.”

 

It’s Friday, and the two are in the elevator on their way to French. The elevator is going painfully slow today, meaning Louis and Harry had to leave class ten minutes instead of five minutes early.

 

Louis hasn’t talked to Liam since lunch on Monday. They’ve texted late at night, but other then that Louis hasn’t been able to sit and talk to him with Harry always with him. “What did you hear?”

 

Harry doesn’t answer him.

 

“Okay, or don’t tell me.”

 

“I heard that you fucked in his car Monday at lunch.”

 

Louis is shocked into silence. Who would say that? The only person who knew he went out to lunch with Liam is Tiffany.

 

Harry takes his pause of silence for him trying to make up an excuse, “So it’s true?”

 

“What? How could you –“ Louis stop himself. “Why does it matter?”

 

“ _Why does it matter_?”

 

“Yeah, Liam’s fit. So who cares if we fucked?”

 

“I thought we had something.” Harry sounds like a hurt puppy, whimpering for attention Louis doesn’t want to give him.

 

Louis looks at him from across the elevator, “Well I’m sorry you think that.”

 

“Would you stop saying stuff like that and talk to me?”

 

“Talk to you about  _what_ , Harry? There’s nothing to talk about.”

 

“I know you have feelings for me.”

 

Louis scoffs dramatically and his voice rises, “I don’t –“

 

“When we were together last Friday, I asked if you liked me, and you said yes.”

 

He sputters for an answer, “A-As a _friend –“_

 

“But I know it’s more than that. You trust me. You said you did.”

 

“Yeah,” he bows his head, “yeah, I do. ‘Cause you, I mean –“

 

“Just say it, Lou.”

 

“I don’t know how to.”

 

“I know,” Louis looks at him with questioning eyes “I knew since the first game when Josh made you cry. Something happened before you came here that makes you think I’m gonna hurt you if you let your guard down.”

 

“N-not  _hurt_  me –“

 

“But you’re scared.”

 

Louis squints his eyes but doesn’t bring his face up to make eye contact. He doesn’t want to admit –

 

“You’re scared of committing to someone. You think too much. You tell yourself things can’t work because you don’t know what you’d do if they did.”

 

Louis picks his head up, and Harry holds his breath as they just stare at each other. Louis looks as if he’s about to cry, and Harry knows. Harry knows he’s trying so hard not to accept the truth. He has walls built up to block anything like this happening, and he’s so afraid of what will happen if they crumble down.

 

The elevator lands on the ground floor, the doors open, but neither boy makes a move to leave.

 

Harry takes two easy steps so he’s in front of Louis holding his hands. “If I promise I won’t hurt you, would you admit you have feelings for me? More than just a friend, I mean.”

 

“Harry,” Louis sighs but doesn’t try to pull his hands away, “you don’t understand.” They’ve had such a great week, why is Harry trying to ruin it?

 

“What don’t I understand?”

 

Harry presses him against the wall and Louis just lets him because he’s too tired. He’s tired of trying to fight Harry when the boy clearly wants answers. And it doesn’t help that his ankle doesn’t grant him access to walk away.

 

“You’re using me,“ he whispers. Now their faces are only separated by the small space between their noses, and Louis can smell Harry's cologne that he wears when he's trying to impress someone. Louis knows. Harry wore that cologne at the first home game.

 

“Using you?” Harry repeats slowly.

 

“Yeah,” Louis sighs like he just wants to get this over with, ”you’re using me as your little sex doll and when you’re done you’ll just throw me out.”

 

Harry doesn’t know how to respond, and Louis nods with a tight-lipped smile.

 

“And then you’re trying to make this a relationship when we both know that I’m just another -“

 

“That’s not true. I wouldn’t do that to you.”

 

“Well I don’t believe you, okay?”

 

Harry can’t take it anymore, and he swiftly closes the gap between them to kiss Louis. He has so much he wants to say, but no strength to put them into words. He wants Louis to know he’s not just another fuck. He wants to say how much he likes him, how he’s so important and no one could convince him differently.

 

But Louis doesn’t let Harry's tongue open his mouth, and pulls away like he’s been burned.

 

“What the fuck was that? We're fighting and you can’t just  _mphhh”_  Harry just kisses him again. He pulls away again, and holds Harry back by the shoulders so he can’t kiss him again – even though he’s wanted to kiss Harry all week. “We're not supposed to be kissing right now! That’s exactly what I’m talking about! We can’t even talk without you trying to do something with me.”

 

“You said there’s nothing to talk about a few minutes ago.”

 

“Well - I –  _yeah_  but whenever I  _do_  try to talk you always interrupt me like what I have to say isn’t important.”

 

“I just want to kiss you, Lou, I’m not trying to pull your pants down.”

 

“You –“ Louis wasn’t expecting that. “You’re just like everyone else.”

 

“What?” Harry tries but Louis interrupts him.

 

“You’re just lying.” Louis whispers, broken and weak, just like the night of the first home game where Louis started crying on his shoulder. “You’re acting all sweet and innocent so I fall for you and then you’re gonna leave when you’re done. It’s always happen to me. I don’t know, I guess I’m just that person no one wants. I’m only good for a fuck then they find out I have feelings for them and leave!”

 

Harry shakes his head, “Lou, babe we already fucked around, like, more times than I can count. If I was bored of you, don’t you think I would’ve left by now? I made Jacob do three bloody sprints around the whole school because I was so mad he hurt you. I care about you, so fucking much, why can’t you just believe me?”

 

“You say that now, just wait.”

 

Harry’s exhausted of trying to explain himself. He just wants one thing. “What happened that you’re so closed off to relationships?”

 

Louis goes cold, and his head ducks down to look at the floor. It’s a question Harry’s wanted to ask since the beginning of the school year, and after looking at Louis' reaction, he lowers his voice. "There was someone else… wasn’t there?”

 

He bites his lip, but still doesn’t look Harry in the eyes.

 

“Louis, please,” he whines. He's frustrated, and just wants  _answers_  for crying out loud. “I’m tired of these games. I like you, okay? So much it’s unbelievable.” He tilts Louis' chin up, and he sees the beginning of tears forming in his eyes. His grip loosens, with his voice going soft, “I just don’t understand why you can’t like me back, or, why you’re not  _letting_  yourself to like me back.”

 

The first and only tear leaks out, and Harry lets his thumb swipe it away. Louis’ bottom lip trembles as he says, “T-They always leave.”

 

"Who does babe? Please tell me."

 

“Can I tell you a secret?” Louis whispers, and without missing a beat Harry nods, “I’ve never had a boyfriend before.”

 

Harry almost chokes on air, “W-What?”

 

He chuckles despite his tears a few minutes ago, “Yeah, shocker right? Well it’s true. All the guys before you, they always just - left.” He cringes, knowing there’s more but doesn’t want to say it.

 

“Oh Lou –“

 

Louis purses his lips to one side, “I really don’t want to talk about it now, yeah?” And again, Louis forces his emotions to stay hidden deep down, because really, he doesn’t want to deal with them now.

 

“Yeah,” Harry breathes. He promises himself he'll find out one day, but for now, he can wait.

 

“Would you believe me if I said I loved you?”

 

“No.”

 

Harry nods. “Okay,” Really, he doesn’t even believe himself on that yet.

 

“I’m sorry.”

 

“I know.”

 

“No, I really am. I’m sorry for ditching you at the party. I just – I couldn’t deal with that right then?” He questions mainly himself.

 

He brushes his thumb lightly across Louis’ cheek, “ _I’m_  sorry for putting you on the spot.”

 

“Well yeah, you kind of did.”

 

Harry chuckles lowly.

 

“If I would’ve done it a different way, would you have said yes?”

 

Louis bobs his head back and forth gently in thought, “I’m not sure actually. Harry, I like you, I really do, but I don’t know if it’s like that. You understand, right?”

 

“If you want to wait until you have your feelings sorted out, then I’ll be okay with it.”

 

“Alright.”

 

“Now it’s been a week, can we go back to us?”

 

“You mean the 'us' that includes you fucking me in your car at lunch?”

 

“Precisely.”

 

“Hm,” Louis smirks, and Harry is so relieved he’s is back to his normal flirtatious self “as long as you don’t mind fucking someone with a sprained ankle.”

 

“I think I could manage.” Harry licks his lips.

 

Louis smiles, and Harry kisses him with the same expression. “Fuck,” Louis pulls away, but laces his fingers through Harry's curls, “I’m suppose to be mad at you.”

 

“Why?” Harry leans their foreheads together, him having to look down because Louis is still so short compared to him – but he loves it.

 

“Because of you I have a job.”

 

“Oh! You got the floor model thing?”

 

“Yeah,” Louis giggles, “They said I was perfect and even worked with my schedule so the hours don’t screw up my life.”

 

“Good,” Harry quickly pecks his lips. “I think we just missed fifteen minutes of French.” 


	17. chapter xvi

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Louis starts working

“You  _do_  know that you two are basically together, yeah?”

 

“What do you mean?” Harry digs through his sports bag, not really paying attention to Zayn, as they get ready to start their early work out. It’s 6, and he’s tired, but every morning him and Zayn meet at the gym.

 

Zayn is already all muscles, and he’s mainly here to help Harry because – well Harry isn’t. Harry’s body is too lengthy for all the running he does and he has asthma that makes breathing difficult when playing, so he needs to work extra hard to make sure his body can keep up with the work. He absolutely refuses for anyone to be better than him, and he already bathes in money he’s so rich and has the spot of captain, but that’s never enough.

 

“I  _mean_  you are already fuck like everyday, you snog whenever you feel like it, you hold hands, every time I look you have your arm wrapped around his shoulder – I don’t understand what’s going on.”

 

“If I’m being honest, I don’t either.” Harry’s fingers finally brush along the small bottle he was looking for.

 

Zayn ruffles through his own bag, not really looking for anything, but patiently waiting for Harry to finish what he’s doing. “Is it you or…”

 

“Louis thinks I’m not serious when I say I want to be his boyfriend,” he sighs. It’s only been a few days since Harry and Louis made up, and he’s so worried about screwing what they have going on again. Harry’s just as insecure as Louis about relationships. He never knows when someone actually likes him for  _him_ , or if they’re just trying to get into his family’s pocket. It hurts when he realizes that’s really the only reason some people talk to him, but he’s learned to take it to his advantage over the years.

 

“Do you know why?”

        

“Not a clue. But I kind of figured it’s because of something that happened with another guy and he’s not ‘emotionally ready’, yeah? Or he’s waiting to screw me over and find another guy.” But Harry knows the second option could never be true. If Louis really wanted to, he could’ve fucked another guy already. But it’s been two and a half months and as far as Harry knows Louis hasn’t been with anyone but him.

 

It makes Harry’s heart skip a beat just by the thought of it.

 

“I’ve never seen you try so much for someone.” Zayn interrupts his thoughts, “With Cory you barely even looked at him when everyone was around.”

 

“Yeah,” Harry whispers, unzipping the plastic bag with his needle inside.

 

There’s a gasp from his side, “Ohh!”

 

“Ohh what?” Stopping his movements, Harry turns to Zayn with a raised eyebrow.

 

“Oh my god!” Zayn sounds like a girl right now but he doesn’t even care, “Harry you love him, don’t you?”

Harry tears his eyes away from Zayn to inspect the needle in his hand, staying silent. Does he love Louis? He doesn’t know what true love feels like, but this has to be pretty darn close to it.

 

“I was right! Little Harry’s all grown up,” Zayn pinches his cheek and jogs away before Harry could hit him back. “Alright enough with the sap talk, I’ll meet you by the lifts.” He walks out of the locker room, leaving Harry to his thoughts.

 

But he just takes a deep breath, not wanting to deal with his feelings right now. With one hand, he holds the small medicine bottle, and with the other he uses the needle to suck the liquid up. He drops his jogger bottoms and brings the needle to the muscle right beneath his arse cheek, taking a deep breath before letting the drugs do its job.

 

-o-

 

“You need to make an Instagram.”

 

Louis looks up his homework, “Why?”

 

“Because I need two more people to like my selfie!” Tiffany whines, scrolling through the 198 likers on her new post.  

 

He snorts, brushing the pencil eraser shavings off his paper, “I have one.”

 

“ _What_?” Tiffany’s squeals, “oh my god why didn’t you tell me? Follow me douche bag!”

 

“I don’t post anything on it,” Louis slips out his phone and types in the passcode, “I just wanted to follow Ariana Grande.”

 

“I love her,” Tiffany sighs admiringly, “but c’mon follow me. Then go follow everyone I’m following.”

 

“M’kay,” Louis mumbles, tapping the app open. He remembers his username and password, with a stroke of luck, and looks up Tiffany. She’s the first one that pops up, and her account is private. He turns the blue follow button green, “Okay, accept me.”

        

Tiffany does as she’s told. “Aw you look so cute in your icon.”

        

“Shut up that was like two years ago,” he likes her selfie, which was taken on his bed, then goes to who she’s following. “Harry has an insta?”

 

“Of course,” she answers airily, “everyone at Cheshire does.”

 

“Interesting,” and he follows everyone Tiffany follows, like she said to. They sit in relative silence, with Louis’ homework that he was trying to complete forgotten on his lap. He checks out Niall and Zayn’s account, seeing that their accounts weren’t on private, and snorts when he notices Niall’s insta is full of pictures of either food or weed.

 

Within a few minutes, some people follow him back, including a lot that he didn’t even follow in the first place.

 

“I’m worried no one will like my pictures.”

 

“Of course they will,” Tiffany comments, crossing her legs from where she’s lying on her back, “you forget you’re a cheerleader.”

 

“So?”

 

“So,” she picks up her head, “you’re a senior varsity cheerleader with a fantastic arse and you’re hot shit I’m not gunna lie. The underclassmen fucking kiss the ground you walk on -- they’ll definitely like your pictures. Trust me, I have freshman liking mine that I’ve never even heard of before.”

 

“Oh?” Louis tilts his head with an amused smile.

 

“Do you know Kylie and Kendal Jenner?”

 

“Who  _doesn’t_  know them is the question.”

 

Tiffany nods, “True. But anyway  _everyone_  follows them. It’s like, if you like their pictures, you’re basically cool. I hate using that word but I don’t know how else to say it. But it’s the same thing with underclassmen and seniors. If you like a senior’s picture, that means they allowed you to follow them, and that is a status symbol to the freshman, sophomores, and juniors – again I don’t know all the full details. But do you get it?”

 

Louis purses his lips, “It sounds too complicated.”

 

“It’s not, I swear.”

 

“Okay then,” he laughs. “But I don’t know what I should post. My life isn’t interesting.”

 

“You can do what I do,” she opens her profile and hands her phone to where he’s situated on the ground, “I only post pictures of myself.”

 

“But this one is of you and Eleanor?”

 

“The picture has to  _include_  me, at least. And of course I have to look hot. That’s why I have over a thousand followers.”

 

He scrunches up his nose and mimics her, “ _’That’s why I have over a thousand followers_ ’,” he laughs at his own attempt to copy her high pitched voice, “you’re such a loser.”

 

“Coming from the boy who was featured on MTV’s my super sweet sixteen as the worst brat –“

 

Louis throws her phone back so it hits Tiffany in the stomach. She starts laughing. “If you ever mention to  _anyone_ I’ll cut your hair off in your sleep.”

 

Tiffany lifts her hands in defeat, “Calm down, I’m not saying anything.” She picks up her phone again and squeals.

 

“What!” Louis knocks his book off his legs in surprise.

 

“I got one more like!” And she looks so happy about it.

 

Louis thumps her on the head for scaring him.

 

She laughs, but doesn’t say anything more. Louis shakes his head, continuing to scroll through his new feed with all the 330 people he’s following. A message from Harry pops up on the screen.

 

 

Louis is in the middle of telling Harry to come around 8 when Tiffany hits him aside the head with her pillow. “ _Earth to fucking Louis_!”

                 

“What? Huh?” Louis snaps out of his trance to look up at the girl.

 

“Oh my god you’re so whipped,” Tiffany laughs, sitting up completely, “I’m hungry. Let’s go get something to eat.”

 

“Is Zayn working?” Louis extends a hand to the girl and she pulls him up. He’s small enough that she doesn’t have much trouble.

 

“I’ll call him.” As the two make their way downstairs, they bump into Jay who’s sorting out papers for work. Louis and Tiffany lock gazes, nodding slightly in agreement. With Jay here, Louis’ has been meaning to ask her something.

 

“Hey Tiffany darling,” the woman looks up from the papers set in front of her. Right now, Jay looks like a true manager, with her hair tied in a messy bun atop her head with reading glasses perched on her nose and a grey blazer.

 

“Looking beautiful as always Jay,” Tiffany compliments with a glowing white smile.

 

Jay lowers the paper she was looking over to peer over to the two teenagers. “Alright I know you want to ask me something, so just get it over with.”

 

Louis smiles winningly next to Tiffany, “Mummy,” he comes over to wrap his arms around her neck, “I was wondering if you could pretty please not be here the weekend before my birthday?”

 

“Let me guess,” she looks over to Tiffany, “you want to have your birthday party here and don’t want the twins around.”

        

“How are you always so good at guessing games?” Tiffany leans against the breakfast bar. Jay huffs a laugh, pulling out of her son’s embrace.

 

“How many people do you plan on inviting?”

 

Louis walks back over to Tiffany and gives her a high five. “Uh not a lot,” he shrugs with innocent eyes.

 

Jay rolls her eyes, “Just make sure by the time I get back that this house is spotless. You too Tiffany, I expect you to help.”

 

Louis and the girl say a loud, “thank you mum!” before slipping on their shoes.

 

As soon as Louis’ hand is about to pull the door open, Jay asks, “And I’m guessing you want me to buy the alcohol?”

 

Tiffany agreed a long time ago, when Jay caught her and Louis drinking out back by the swing set one night and asked if they wanted another beer, that she is literally the best woman in the world. She’s one of those mums that prefer if Louis drinks, that she provides the alcohol to assure he’s not out getting arrested by the police or taken advantage of. And with a chorus of ‘please’, Jay agrees. It’s not like she would ever say no.

 

-o-        

-o-

 

“As a floor model, your job is very simple - make the customers feel comfortable enough to walk into the store. Then once they’re in, convince them to buy our products. Now, I’ll be assigning you front section where you’ll be greeting the people.” Louis nods, playing with the zipper of the Hollister hoodie he was given to wear. “There, your job is to make sure the clothes are neatly folded, all tags are tucked in, clothes are on their hangers and are distanced equally, and that the jean wall is always stacked. When you’re stacking the clothes or jeans, make sure it starts at the smallest size, and if you notice there’s a size missing then just go back to the stock room and have Charlotte help you find it. The stock room code is 4-8-2, now follow me.”

 

Louis’ new manager, Beth, opens the office door and steps out. Louis is right behind her, wanting to impress but super nervous he’ll mess up something. He follows her out to the cash register, where a girl is tending to a line of customers. “This is Charlotte, she’s been here for a little over three years now, and she’ll be your manager on the floor. If you have a problem finding clothes or if a customer has a question you can’t answer, Charlotte is your girl – not me. I’m not here half the time anyway.” The last women on line pays for her shirt, taking the receipt and walking out of the store.

 

The girl at the register takes a breath, turning to Louis with a big smile. “Hi, you must be my new co-worker.”

 

“Yeah,” Louis nods, “I’m Louis. It’s funny ‘cause you look like my sister and have the same name,” he laughs a little. But he feels sad at the same time. He hasn’t really talked to Charlotte or Felicitein these four years he’s moved around with Jay.

 

“Oh really? Well I’m flattered. Any person related to you must be gorgeous. I mean god Beth where did you find him?”

 

Louis blushes, and Beth smiles proudly, “I think Charlotte here has a crush on you,”

 

The girl rolls her eyes, “You’re crazy, Beth. I just met him,” she looks at Louis flirtatiously, “but I wouldn’t mind a date.”

 

Louis licks his lips, suddenly getting sweaty under the two girls gazes “Uh, uh I don’t – I mean –“

 

“Oh my god,” Charlotte cups her face in her hands, “I’m so sorry I don’t mean to make you feel awkward – but you’re gay aren’t you?”

 

“I mean, sorta, I uh – yeah. But I’m bi, if you still want to -?”

 

“No, no don’t worry about it,” Charlotte laughs, “Half the guys that work here are gay, I’m used to it. I just had that smidge little hope that you weren’t, but whatever. Just pretend the last few minutes never happened.”

 

“Okay,” Louis laughs. Beth clears her throat next to him awkwardly, pointing to the front of the store to signal for Louis to follow again. 

 

“Today I’m assigning you to work at the front, you will both fold and greet at the same time. This is the Betty section, and right through that doorway are the Dudes. Overtime you’ll grow more comfortable with where everything is and you won’t have to ask Charlotte for anything. Now, when a customer walks in, make sure you say the tagline, "Hey, what's up guys?" and make sure to follow up and be friendly with questions like, "do you need help finding a size?" or "have you seen our new Laguna jeans?”

If you are working at the cash register, which you will not be today, but you have to be sure to take out the censors from clothes and assist customers if they have any coupons or discounts. The tagline is "hey have you checked out our new winter sweaters?" and after they answer – or hopefully go to check out the sweaters - ring up their purchase and put the clothes in a bag. Again, not today, but if I assign you to working in the fitting rooms, you will first ask the customer how many items, and if it is over the limit of 5, put the remaining items on the door and tell them they are only allowed 5 items in the dressing room.”

 

“Gotcha,” Louis nods, smiling at two girls that walk in. Beth notes how his smile is very inviting, and he will be a great addition to the team.

 

“And here at Hollister, we try to prevent thieft as much as possible. There’s only one exit, which you will be in charge of watching since you’re on greeting duty. So if you happen to see someone steal or the alarm goes off, confront him or her calmly. We don’t want to cause a big scene. Just take them to Charlotte and she’ll call mall security.”

 

Louis doesn’t want to deal with any shoplifters on his first day, god, he would probably just let them take whatever they tried to steal because he’s so soft. Especially if someone were to start crying.

 

“Last thing before I go home, if you’re working a 4 hour shift, you get a 10-minute break to walk around in the mall, just hang out in the back, or for the night shift you can go grab something to eat for dinner. If you have a 5-hour shift, you have a 30-minute break. And today you get 30 minutes, just make sure to come back on time.”

 

“Okay,” he remembers everything she says, and with a small wave, watches her walk back to the back.

 

He takes a deep breath, turning to the wide expansion of clothes on each wall. There are a lot of clothes that are messed up, with people being so careless when putting them back. He starts with the first table that people see when walking in, organizing the different shirts on display in size order. He steps behind the table, and another group of girls who look 12 freeze when they see him. He’s confused on why they’re staring at him like that, but remembers to say, “Hey! What’s up guys?”

 

One girl with bright blonde hair giggles and speaks up, “Where are the skirts?”

 

“Uh,” Louis didn’t know they sold skirts when it’s almost winter, so he takes a guess, “if you go straight down towards the cash register, go past it to the room right before clearance and you should see them – unless they were moved.” He smiles, not even knowing what’s in the two back rooms but sounding confident enough the girls don’t question him.

 

“Thank you!” they say in unison, continuing on towards the room.

 

As two hours progress, Louis’ hands start to feel clammy from all the clothes he’s had to fix and fold. He’s fairly annoyed at one customer that started yelling at him because a shirt didn’t fit her. He just let her tell him that Hollister sucked, because there’s really nothing he can do, and watched as she stomped out of the store.

 

It’s around 7, and the store is fairly quiet, when a group of guys that look Louis’ age come in with snapbacks and sunglasses even though they’re inside a mall. Louis has his back turned to them when they first step in, still trying to organize the jean wall, and doesn’t see how the boys smirk at each other.

 

Louis goes on his tippy toes to reach the top shelf, hears the boys, and smiles tightly, “Hey guys, the Dudes section is right through there,” he points to the doorway Beth showed him earlier.

 

“Thanks,” one of them says, and Louis smiles again before turning back to the jean wall. He picks up a pair of white ripped-at-the-thigh jeans, and yelps. He spins on his heals, with the jeans now on the floor because he dropped them, and sees the group laughing at him. “Okay who’s the one who just smacked my arse?” he hisses.

 

They don’t say anything, only changing their expression from a smirk to innocent puppy dog.

 

“It’s not funny so stop. Please.” Louis glares, hesitantly bending down to pick up the jeans. As he’s standing on his tippy toes again, a hand grabs his left arse cheek and he actually screams. “Cut it out!” he tries to slap the guy in the red snapback who just touched him, but the group runs out of the store before he has a chance. “Douche bags,” he whispers to himself, smoothing down his shirt.

 

They come back four times, each time sneaking up on Louis. Charlotte asks him what’s going on the third time, and when Louis answers one of them comes in the door and pinches his arse. He grabs his wrist, but the guy is laughing and runs away again. The fourth time, Louis is ready to call mall security.

 

He pulls on his hair in frustration, really wanting to take his break – and  _finally_  stop folding for 30 minutes – but he’s waiting for Harry. They’re going to walk somewhere for dinner.

 

Even though it’s the middle of the week, the mall is still full with shoppers or people who just want to walk around to look. A lot of girls come and go without buying anything, and it pisses him off more than he imagined, but he just smiles as they leave. He’s been working on this jean wall for an hour straight, and when Louis finally –  _finally_ thank the  _Lord_  – is finished organizing the jean wall, there’s a hand that rests on his hips. He smacks whoever it is on the shoulder, thinking it’s a boy from the group, but his eyes go wide when he sees Harry grab his shoulder from the surprise attack. “Oh,” he sighs, “it’s just you.”

 

“Ow,” Harry whines, “why did you just hit me?”

 

Louis kisses him as a greeting, and in this case an apology, and shakes his head, “These fuckers have been coming in for the past hour to smack my arse then run out. Great first day,” he says sarcastically, lacing their fingers together. “I’m sorry, did I hurt you that bad?”

 

“No, I’m fine, just surprised.” Harry turns to leave but Louis pulls him towards the cash register.

 

“Charlotte?” he looks around, and the girl pops up from where she was rearranging bags under the counter.

 

“Yeah?” she looks at Louis, and then notices he’s holding hands with another boy. “Oh wow you have a boyfriend? Okay now I feel even worse.”

 

“What?” Louis asks confused, “Oh! No – uh, it’s complicated. We’re not dating, though.”

 

She looks at their hands with furrowed eyebrows, but just shrugs, “Alrighty then.”

 

“I just wanted to tell you I’m going on my break, see you in a half hour!”

 

Once outside the store, Harry swings their hands up to throw his arm around Louis’ neck. Louis laughs, slipping his arm to find Harry’s jean belt loop on the other side of his chest. “So those guys?” Harry asks as they walk along.

 

“Ugh,” Louis groans, “don’t even get me started. At first I thought they were just gunna be normal then they smacked me twice and ran out. Came back four fucking times,” he rolls his eyes.

 

“Four times?” Harry laughs, but not laughing  _at_  Louis. He ignores the boiling feeling inside his gut. “I think you have admirers.”

 

“They’re like –“ Louis wants to say a young age, but even he knows that those guys were most definitely around his age. He hates it when guys are immature. Why can’t they just be normal and walk up to him to start a conversation? “I think they were in college,” he laughs, “god by then I expect a guy to grow up.”

 

“Right?” Harry looks up towards the signs. He scans down the selections of stores, “How about Starbucks?”

“Starbucks for dinner?” Louis questions.

“Yeah.”

 

“I guess?” Louis shrugs, not really in the mood to eat anything really but would very much appreciate some caffeine for the next two hours of his shift. “But ya know what I’m really in the mood for?”

 

“What?” he wonders.

 

Louis doesn't give the boy much warning before shoving him into a plain white wall right next to Forever21. Harry doesn't react, letting Louis mold his lips with his. He licks into his mouth like an ice cream cone, tasting every inch inside Harry’s mouth. Harry cups his jaw, guiding his mouth on his in a way that makes Louis’ insides tingle. He hears bystanders whispering about them, but he smirks and dives back in. Harry opens his eyes for a spilt second, not expecting to see anything, but spots a group of boys standing opposite of where him and Louis are snogging. Those must be the guys must’ve been bothering Louis.

 

The cheerleader doesn’t notice when Harry slides his hand down his back towards the roundness of his arse, squeezing his cheeks and sticking his middle finger towards the group.

 

 _Yeah, you little shits, this is mine_  Harry thinks.


	18. chapter xvii .i

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> spirit week part 1

Sometimes Louis can be one of those people who doesn’t give a flying fuck about anything. He could smoke a joint with Zayn the day before a huge test and stroll into class the next day tired and red eyed and he’d take the test with no worries.

Other times, he’s overly obsessed with every single detail that he goes literally insane.

Right now, as he sits with Tiffany and Eleanor as they plan out spirit week, he’s being obsessive. He wants to go all out for this week, because hello everyone else will be so what’s the fun of just watching? He needs to have the best outfit for all the days, especially Friday, and he is willingly to look like a fool.

“Glasses?”

“Check.”

“Hair gel?”

“Check.”

“Plaid button up?”

Louis ruffles around with the items laid out on his bed, “Check.”

“Is there anything else?” Eleanor looks at the list they’ve written out. See, Louis loves to organize things, so he took the liberty to write out all of the outfits for the three of them in a notebook so they can’t forget anything.

“I think that’s all.” Louis slides the notebook from her hands and reads over his list, “Oh, the tie. I have that. The pants – check. Okay, I’m set. What about you two?”

 “I have your suspenders already at my house,” Tiffany walks in the room with three opened beers, handing one to Louis and Eleanor.

“Make sure those fuckers are clean when I get them back, they’re my favorite,” Louis points to her with the bottle in his hand. He puts down the notebook and takes a sip of the drink. “What about you Eleanor?”

“I’m all set. I even managed to find a bow tie,” she says with an amused smile, sipping at her beer.

“Fancy,” Louis says in a very bad French accent. He looks back to Tiffany who’s scrolling through her phone, “You ready for Thursday?”

“I was born ready,” Tiffany laughs, “god everyone is going to get a kick out of that. I can’t wait.”

Louis smiles proudly, “Aren’t I a genius?”

“Indeed. I just hope Harry doesn’t fuck you as soon as you walk into class.”

He chokes on his beer, letting some of it dribble down his chin. With a quick swipe he wipes it away with silent laughter shaking his body, “I would thoroughly enjoy that.”

Eleanor looks at the time and notices it’s half past four, “Are you coming to my house Thursday to decorate the pillow cases?”

“Well I was planning on buying the candy on Wednesday if you wanna come with me after school.”

“Can’t after school. Spirit week tradition that the cheerleaders and football team switch for that day – like the captains stay but the rest of the players go and try to play the different sport.”

“Really?” Louis nods his head with interest, “That sounds cool. Will I be considered a captain or...?”

“Trust me the footie team is so hard to handle with just me and Tiff, you’re going to be helping.”

“Alright,” Louis smiles, “looks like we’re set. Are we tepeeing on Thursday too?”

“No, it’s supposed to thunder storm. But it’ll clear up in time for the game. Oh! You have to wear your uniform on Friday – and at the peprally. And if you want, on Friday morning usually Varsity and JV get together in the front parking lot around seven twenty and the cheerleaders paint the guys’ faces black and gold. Bring some face paint, and a lot of it, okay?”

“Okay.”

“Then before the peprally we paint the guys’ totally black and gold. You’ll be in charge of Harry, of course, and some other guys while everyone is getting ready. I’ll come get you in class right before we start.”

“Sounds good.” He takes another sip.

 

 -

 

Monday morning Louis looks absolutely magnificent in his outfit, he must say. He could pass for one of those office nerds that might blow their boss under the desk after hours. With his pants hugging his arse and his button up clinging to his chest, he loves this look on him. Especially his hair – Jay got up extra early with him to help him blow dry it and then put hair gel to give it that greasy sideways look. His glasses are thick framed and sit beautifully on the bridge of his nose, completing the outfit.

He strolls into school with the widest smile he could manage. The halls are littered with different spirit week signs and encouragement. Eleanor meets him at his locker, and he compliments her in a stuffed up voice that she looks stunning. She stutters out a thank you, and they burst out laughing.

As soon as Louis walks into homeroom, he can’t hold back laughing when he gets a look at Niall. He’s wearing a white long sleeved button up with a high collar and plaid pants that reach his abs. He’s walking around like Steve Urkel, greeting everyone with “howdy hoe neighbors!” He, on purpose for the joke, knocks over a pile of textbooks, and looks around innocently before muttering “did I do that?” in the best Steve impersonation voice Louis has ever heard.

“Niall can I hug you? Oh my god you’re so cute,” Louis drops his books on his desk.

Niall comes up to him and says, “Do I get a welcome kiss?” like Steve would ask Laura every time he would come over.

Louis shoves him away with a laugh, turning to the door when Zayn walks in. He’s not really that dressed up, but he’s wearing 3D glasses with the lenses poked out so it will do. Nerd Day doesn’t really imply that everyone has to be as dressed up as Louis, Tiffany, Eleanor, Niall, and some others that just went all out.

Two girls walk through the classroom door, all booked out with glasses and pocket protectors, and they nod towards Louis and Niall looking impressed. “You guys look awesome. Mind posing for a picture for the yearbook?” Louis didn’t notice her professional Nikon camera until she holds it up.

The two friends shake their heads, and Louis and Niall turn away from each other to pose. They cross their arms and lean into the other’s back, but just before the girl snaps the photo, Niall moves his hands down to squeeze Louis’ arse. Louis plays along, opening his mouth to act surprised for the photo. When the girls leave, he hits Niall’s arm.

 

 

For superhero day, Louis and Liam walk around the whole day with Liam saying “I’m Batman,” and Louis jumps in next to him, “And I’m Robin!”

 - 

"Come on ladies hustle over here!" Eleanor yells to the group of footie players making their way over. Louis and Tiffany stand on either side of her, helping the girl captain for sports switch day. Basically the whole point of this day is for other sports to get a feeling of what it's like to practice for the other. The football and cheerleading team always switch - its been a tradition for years. Then at Friday's game the footie team will perform the half time dance - a very  _very_  watered down version of the dance - but still. The cheerleaders have the choice to play a quick ten minute game at half time as well, but usually they never do it.  
  
Once the guys are in front of them, Eleanor smiles, "Okay guys we have three hours to teach you the half time dance but it's so easy I think it'll only take twenty minutes."  
  
"For you maybe," Zayn speaks from the front, "we aren't dancing protégés like you, Eleanor."

"Don't put yourself down! You  _all_  have potential!"

  
  
Louis rolls his eyes, "Oh really? Where do they keep it?"  
  
Tiffany giggles into her hand.  
  
Zayn points his finger at Louis, "You only know the dances so good 'cause you get the practice them every day."  
  
"Nope," Louis shakes his head with an amused smile, "I can learn any dance within a few minutes."  
  
He walks into Louis' personal bubble, having to bend his head down to look straight into his eyes, "Is that a challenge?"  
  
Everyone around them wolf whistles from how close they are. Louis bites his smirking lips, maintaining eye contact. "It's whatever you want it to be," he whispers seductively.  
  
"Then I challenge you to memorize the dance I'm about to make up," Zayn steps back and cracks his knuckles, "If you can't then we don't have to do the half time dance on Friday." The football team cheers behind him, obviously confident Louis will lose.  
  
"And what if he wins?" Tiffany steps in, "Then what?  
  
"Then all of you have to wear the old cheer skirts from last year on Friday," Eleanor suggests.  
  
"That's golden!" Louis laughs loudly, "Yes. That's the bet. Are you in or out, Zayn? I'm giving you chance to back out now -"  
  
"It's a bet." Zayn nods, putting out his hand.  
  
Louis shrugs, "If you're positive then." And he meets Zayn's hand in the middle for a firm hand shake, "Win or lose nothing happens to me either way so."  
  
"Yeah, yeah let's get this over with so I don't have to stand here for three hours," Zayn slides off his jacket and hands it to Niall. "What kind of songs you got on there?" He points to Eleanor's iPod resting on the station dock that connects to the stereo.  
  
"You pick," Louis bends down to grab the device, handing it over.  
  
Zayn scrolls through the selection - mostly all of the songs are cheer remixes - but he finds Beat It by Sean Kingston. Eleanor hooks it back up and waits for Zayn's okay to start playing it.  
  
With a nod, the beats come through the speakers. Louis nods his head along with it, his eyes staring intently at Zayn's body. The boy starts to dance, sliding his leg out and bringing it back, kind of like the dances that would be at a dance battle in a rap video. Louis hasn't learned how to dance like that, so he furrows his eyebrows with worry. He hears the football team sneering how he's going to lose - because fuck Zayn can dance pretty fast.  
  
Biting his lip, Louis puts his hand up at the end of the second chorus for Eleanor to stop the song. Zayn stops, smirking at the boy, "Looks like I win if I can't even finish -"  
  
"No wait," Louis replays back the dance, like a projection screen in his mind. "Okay Eleanor play it again I - I think I can pick up some of it."  
  
"Just admit defeat, Lou." Zayn receives a pat on the back from his team mates.

"N-no I can do this," Louis takes a deep breath. The song starts again, instantly melting away the worry on his face. He smirks instead, "You danced with the same basic moves," Louis starts doing the same exact dance Zayn just did, shocking the boys into silence. "You copied a lot of Chris Brown." Louis rolls his hips way more than necessary, getting closer to Zayn with every move. "Then at the chorus you did a clap stomp -  _boom_ ," he's right in Zayn face again, "then you ran out of ideas and started repeating. It's a common thing with amateurs to repeat their own moves - you just try to make them look different so no one notices."

  
  
Eleanor and Tiffany clap from behind him, giving Louis high fives when he steps back from Zayn. "Now I believe, Eleanor," he turns his head to the girl, "we need to go to the basement and fetch the skirts for Friday."

 

-

  
  
"Brandon," Louis whines but giggles when the freshman frowns adorably, "It's not a hard move! It's a simple high V, tuck it to your chest, then a low V. Seriously, my sisters are in  _preschool_  and they learned most of this dance no problem!"  
  
"This is impossible for me! I hate dancing," Brandon huffs.  
  
Louis laughs and straightens himself, "Okay come on just follow my movements." He brings his arms up, "This is a high V, and when you're doing this you have to have the big doughnut showing -"  
  
"What fucking doughnuts? When was food involved!?"

"Of your hand!" Louis half yells. He forcibly grabs Brandon's hand, curls it into a fist, and pats the side with his thumb and pointer finger pressed together, "This is the big doughnut.  _This_ ," he flips Brandon's fist around to where his pinky shows "is a small doughnut. In a high V," he drops Brandon's hand and does the move, "you turn your fist so the big doughnut is showing - like this."

  
"Okay," Brandon copies Louis, feeling ridiculously.  
  
"Then you tuck your hands into to your chest."  
  
"Got it."  
  
"Then go into a low V," Louis straights his arms downward.  
  
"Do you show the little doughnut this time?"  
  
Louis laughs, "No big doughnut for each. Now just do those three things in a 2 count. So it goes 5, 6, 7, 8," Louis counts and puts his hands into a high V, "1 and 2. The 1 is when you do the high V, and is when you tuck it into your chest, then on 2 it's your low V."  
  
"That's so confusing!" Brandon complains.  
  
"Just practice it!" Louis laughs, "now when I say 8, have your arms ready to go up."

-  
  
"Eleanor?"  
  
The girl caption spins around to greet the boy. It's six o'clock and everyone has finished switch day. The boys took so much longer than Eleanor expected but she got a laugh out watching them try to dance. "Hey Harry! How were my girls?"  
  
"Uh well Lucy passed out," he bites his lip.  
  
"What?" Eleanor gasps, looking towards the football pitch to see a girl being checked by the nurse, "Oh god what did you do to her?"  
  
"Nothing! I literally just gave them a ball and told them to kick it around the whole time. I didn't even make them do runs or anything so I don't know what happened," Harry defends himself. "She's probably just dehydrated."

 

 -

 

“What candy does Harry like?” Louis nibbles on his bottom lip, scanning his eyes over the wide assortment of candy at Dollar General. Tiffany is with him, and she already picked out half a cart full of candy for Zayn. Apparently he’ll eat about anything that has an ounce of sugar in it.

Tiffany hums happily, “Well I don’t know but you’re suppose to fill your pillow case so I suggest you buy as much candy as possible and Harry can just trade.”

“Why can’t I be a footie player?” Louis whines, “I would love a whole bag of candy.”

“Then you can just share with your boyfriend,” Tiffany smirks. Louis doesn’t even feel like protesting. He picks up an industrial size bag of Twiz and throws it into the cart, rolling away from the girl. She disappears into another isle, leaving him to his thoughts.

 - 

This is by far Louis’ craziest idea yet. Tiffany agreed too, and because it sounded so fun she immediately said yes.

See, usually for opposite day, people wear different colored socks or two clothing items that don’t match at all. But Louis, being he’s so clever, decided to take the opposite day idea to the highest possible level.

That’s right, he’s dressing like a girl. And not just any girl – Tiffany.

And Tiffany is going to be Louis.

It works. If Louis is Tiffany and Tiffany is Louis, then they are the opposite of themselves, meaning it’s totally fair game.

He hasn’t told anyone about this plan, wanting to surprise everyone into utter shock. Louis’s wearing Tiffany’s signature mini skirt with a shirt that has two long pieces of it hanging the front to be tied up so the last inch of his stomach shows. He’s wearing Tiffany’s new bra that she hasn’t wore yet – because ew – and stuffed it with grapefruit to look like he has two D cups. Tiffany did his make up in the car, and he’s borrowed a wig from Tiffany's mom that actually looks pretty real. And he isn’t half assing this either, heck, he even ordered green contact lenses.

He walks into to math - he couldn’t make it to homeroom because Tiffany was finishing touching up his makeup - and greets everyone with a smile. Tiffany lent him a bag that is way too expensive for her own good but it fit well with his outfit. “Hi I’m Tiffany.”

Expecting laughter or sneers, the whole class just stares at Louis like they either want to murder him or fuck him into oblivion. Louis furrows his eyebrows together in confusion. Why isn’t anyone recognizing him?

 “Hello,” the teacher says, “are you new?”

This was absolutely not part of the plan but  _oh my god this is perfect_ , Louis thinks. “Yes I’m Tiffany… Smith. I’m a transfer.”

“Welcome Tiffany. But I didn’t get a notice from the office that a new student would be joining us.”

“Oh - I have a note.”

Louis scribbles out a note reading,  _im louis tomlinson and Im a girl for opposite day – get it? – but no one recognizes me so go along with it_

“No way,” the teacher whispers.

Louis nods proudly. Mr. Walsh straightens up, “Okay  _Tiffany_  you can take the empty seat next to Harry back there.”

“Okay thank you,” Louis smiles, turning towards the students. It feels like his first day all over again, with everyone’s eyes on him, and he makes him way to the back. Harry keeps his eyes on him the whole time, and Louis is pretty sure he knows it’s him, but when he sits down Harry stays silent. Louis gets comfortable in his chair, having to cross his legs because his skirt.

Every now and then, he’ll peek over to look at Harry. And every time Harry is staring at his fake boobs.

Forty minutes of staring later, Louis finally turns his head a bit towards Harry to whisper, “Are you just gunna stare at my boobs all of class?”

Harry’s eyes move up to stare into Louis’ eyes instead, “I was admiring them.”

 “Ah,” Louis smiles amused, “Aren’t you Harry Styles?”

“Yeah.”

“I heard about you. Don’t you have a boyfriend?”

“Yeah.”

“Oh,” Louis falters. Harry’s dating someone? What the fuck? Has he been dating someone behind his back the whole time they’ve been hooking up? “W-Who is he?”

“Louis Tomlinson.”

 _What?_  “And he’s your  _boyfriend_?”

“Yeah.”

No. “When did you guys start dating?”

“About a week ago.”

What? Why is Harry lying? “ _Oh really_?”

“Yeah.”

“That’s interesting. Now since you have a  _boyfriend_  why are you checking me out?”

“Just like if he were to appreciate a guys dick I can appreciate your boobs. And obviously you’re wearing that top for attention.”

“That’s not reasonable if you’re  _taken._ ”

Harry shrugs. “Oh and when he comes you have to leave.”

“Excuse me?”

“When he comes, you have to find another chair.”

“Are you seriously telling me what to do?”

“Yeah.”

“How about  _no_. Do you seriously think it’s okay to command people what to do so rudely? Who do you think you are?”

“Look,” Harry hisses, but he stops himself from getting angry. Sighing, he rubs a hand over his face, “I’m not telling you to sprint across the country, all I’m saying is when Louis comes you have to leave.”

“Fine I’ll leave the classroom.”

“That’s not what I meant.”

“No obviously I can’t be in the same room as  _Louis_  because you’ll be too busy checking me out.”

“You’re trash compared to him.”

“ _Excuse me_?”

Louis looks at Harry with a mixture of confusion and anger, “Harry?” he drops his act, speaking with his natural voice. He  _cannot_  believe Harry said all of that. Sure, okay, he shouldn’t be offended but Harry didn’t even know the plan and he still treated a girl he just met like – like  _trash_.

Harry stares at him totally confused himself, “Wait, what?”

Louis scoffs and collects his pocketbook. Mr. Walsh’s eyebrows knit together, “Where are you going?”

Louis grabs the bathroom pass hastily, “To the bathroom. I have my period so I might be a while,” and slams the classroom door shut. 


	19. chapter xvii .ii

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> pep rally

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> starts off right where the last chapter ended

_"What_?” Harry raises his voice but the door slams shut. He looks at Mr. Walsh, who stares straight back at him with confusion in his eyes.

 

The teacher momentarily stops writing on the board, “What just happened?”  
  
“I don’t even know,” Harry gets up, “can I go find out?”  
  
“Yeah, sure. Don’t be long, yeah?”  
  
He quickly nods, opening the door and jogging to the bathrooms where the girl might be. Niall’s bright blonde hair is the first thing he notices, then the girl standing in front of him. Harry stops beside them, and Niall looks toward him with huge eyes, mouthing ‘what the fuck is going on?’  
  
Mouthing back ‘I have no idea’, Harryputs his hands up to show he doesn’t have a clue. They both go quiet when the girl huffs.  
  
  
  
“Harry I can’t even deal with you right now go away,” A clearly familiar voice speaks, and Harry feels like he’s been knocked out.

 

“I said go away!” Louis growls, ripping off his blonde wig. **  
  
**  
  
“Yeah…I don’t feel like being involved in whatever’s about to happen,” Niall mumbles, walking away.  
  
  
  
“You’re a fucking jerk!” Louis doesn't try to get Harry to leave again; He  _wants_ to yell at him.  
  
  
  
Harry’s lost for words, “Lou –“  
  
  
  
“Yeah, okay, I was just dressed up as a girl you didn't even know and you called me  _trash_ –!“  
  
  
  
“I wasn't talking about  _you_ –“  
  
  
  
Louis pulls at his hair, “It doesn't matter Harry, you don’t understand!”  
  
  
  
“What don’t I understand?” Harry yells back, not caring if they’re disturbing classes.  
  
  
  
“You.” Louis clenches his fists, taking a deep breaths, “Is that how you  _treat_ people when I’m not around?”  
  
  
  
“Of course not,” Harry shakes his head fast, “I –“  
  
  
  
“Then why did you just say all that stuff !? You said I was your  _boyfriend_!” He spits, making Harry bite his lip when he realizes his mistake.  
  
  
  
“Louis,” He scrambles for words, “I just thought cause she – you – were hitting on me, and I wanted her to make sure I wasn’t –“  
  
  
  
“Bullshit !” Louis yells, instantly silencing the boy, “I told you no. How many times have I rejected you and you tell me that you’d wait until I was ready? I –“ He rubs his face suddenly, “I told you I’ve never had a boyfriend – and I haven’t told anyone that, mind you – and you just  _lied_ , saying I was yours? Is that what you say to everyone?”  
  
  
  
“Will you calm down?” The captain notices doors slowly opening to see what’s going on. He sighs, pulling Louis to a cut of section by the water fountains where no one can see them.  
  
  
  
“No, I won’t calm down, fuck you.” Louis let’s himself be pulled, then snatches his arm away when Harry comes to a stop.  
  
  
  
“What would you rather have me do?” Harry throws his hands up, “Did you want me to tell her –  _you_ , fuck – I was single? What if you weren’t  _you_  and it was an actual girl? Would you want her to continue flirting with me?”  
  
  
  
Louis’ jaw clenches.  
  
  
  
“Exactly, Lou.”  
  
  
  
“So if it was an actual girl, you would stare at her boobs and then act like a prick? Really?”  
  
  
  
“I didn’t act like a prick !”  
  
  
  
He rolls his eyes, “That is such a fucking lie. If that’s how you treat –“  
  
  
  
Harry interrupts him, “Trust me, please. I don’t know why I said what I did, but I would never treat someone like that. You can ask anyone. I just – I  _don’t_ know what we are, Lou. We obviously aren’t just friends and it kills me that I can’t just tell someone about us. Yeah, before you say why do we need labels, it’s just  _nice_. Nice knowing I can brag about how fucking amazing you are and people willknow that you’re mine. But you insist that we just stay in this weird friend-relationship thing and I –“ Harry stops looking around to look straight into Louis’ eyes, “I’m sorry. I won’t do it again.”  
  
  
  
All the words Louis wanted to say are suddenly stomped when he sees Harry’s eyes.  
  
  
  
His shoulders drop, all the tension releasing. He looks down at the wig he’s holding, “I –“ He licks his lips, not knowing what to say. “I think I’m gonna go home.”  
  
  
  
Confused, Harry makes a grab for Louis’ wrist, “But it’s only first period.”  
  
  
  
Louis moves his wrist out of the way, “I – I just need to think – about this. Harry, you know, I mean, if you can’t,” he groans not knowing how to phrase his words, “If you like me that much and I’m not there yet – then I think we just need to …slow whatever this is down.” It’s really hard not to look up and see Harry’s whole face drop, “I’ll text you later, okay?”  
  
  
  
As Louis starts to walk towards the office, Harry doesn’t bother going after him.

 

 -

  
A soft knock comes from his door. Louis’ sprawled out on his bed, clad in a white tank top and old sweatpants from London Private. He mindlessly scrolls through Instagram, and when he hears the knock, he calls out, “Yeah?”  
  
  
  
Jay slowly creaks open the door, peeking her head in, “You ready to explain to me why I had to come sign you out?”  
  
  
  
Locking his phone, Louis throws it to the far end of his bed and slams his head into the cushions with a groan. Taking that as a yes, Jay slips all the way inside the room. She pauses to look around, smiling fondly at the picture of Louis with all four of his sisters at an amusement park. Daisy and Phoebe are newborns, both held by Louis who is only in eighth grade.

 

“You look so young in this,” Jay gently picks up the frame, making Louis peek from where his head is buried in his arms, “those were easier times, weren’t they?” she flats her lips. “But of course life got in the way,” she sets it back down, turning to her son, “and not everything is meant to work out. But look where we are now,” smiling faintly, she peers around the room, “safe, in a home, not having much difficulties. Sometimes life works out that way, doesn't it?” Louis sits up straight, letting her sit next to him.

She continues, “Life has a funny way of making us question how we view it. Sure, I miss Mark everyday, and I miss Doncaster. I miss being able to hold my two oldest daughters, but instead of looking at it as a negative –“ she smiles at Louis, who’s processing what she’s saying, “I should be looking at the positive. I have you, the twins, a beautiful house, and a well paying job. Sure, I could be moping around all the time and complain, or I can just appreciate what I have.”  
  
  
  
Louis smiles for the first time since he’s been home. “You always know what to say.”  
  
  
  
“I’m your mum,” Jay lays her hand on top of his, “I’ve watched you grow into the boy you are today. By now I should be able to read you like a book, yeah?”  
  
  
  
“Yeah.” There’s a moment of silence where Louis ponders on how to explain the situation. “So basically,” he sighs, bringing his knees up to his chest and making him look much smaller than he already is in Jay’s eyes, “Today was Opposite Day, like I told you, and I went in dressed as Tiffany. But like, everyone was supposed to realize it was me – no one did. Not even Harry. And yeah, that like hurt a little bit ‘cause I was expecting him to be able to recognize me, but I guess I really over did it on the outfit. Anyway, long story short, he acted like a fucking prick to me and called me trash compared to me. I don’t know, I just,” he picks at his fingernails, “I feel like there’s a side to Harry I haven’t really paid attention to. I don’t know what he would act like if I wasn’t around but he obviously didn’t know it was me and that’s how he acted. And I –“  
  
  
  
“Why was he acting like a prick?” She asks.  
  
  
  
“Well he said because I was ‘flirting’. Oh, and I didn’t even tell you the worse part. He told me I was his boyfriend. Like, he said we’ve been dating ever since last week and when he was trying to explain himself he said something about how he wanted to brag how great I was blah blah blah. I just can’t get over how he acted.”  
  
  
  
Jay takes a moment to think over what he just said. Louis bites his lip, really depending on her to solve his problems **,**  like she always does.  
  
  
  
“And you begged me to come home because you were overwhelmed and didn’t know what all of it meant.” She thinks aloud, and Louis nods because, yes, that’s exactly why. “Okay,” she gathers herself, “Louis, I need you to listen to me.”  
  
  
  
“Okay,” he answers immediately. He’s been so clueless on the situation ever since he’s come home. He’s literally never had to deal with this, and it scares- like he said to Harry- him a lot.  
  
  
  
“I need you to forget everything that happened in the past three years. Everything.”  
  
  
  
“Uh,” Louis chuckles awkwardly, “okay?”  
  
  
  
“Now forgetting everything that’s happened, do you like Harry?”  
  
  
  
“What -?”  
  
  
  
Jay cuts him off with a sharp, “Do. You. Like. Harry. It’s a simple question, Boo.” She adds the nickname to lessen the seriousness of her tone.  
  
  
  
“I –“ Louis scrambles for words, “N – uh, no. I don’t like him more than a friend.”  
  
  
  
“Louis, I said forget everything that’s happened,” she reminds him lightly, “Now c’mon, answer the question, as if you’d never gone to London, Bradford or Wolverhampton.”  
  
  
  
Louis blinks, feeling so vulnerable because he doesn’t have a clue what’s going on. But he takes a deep breath, listening to her and trying to imagine a time before he moved. He imagined a life where he never met Aiden, or Jesse – before the heartbreak and lies. He finally is hit with realization. “Yeah, yeah I do like him. But mum what does that have to do with –“  
  
  
  
“So you like Harry, more than a friend, but you’re refusing yourself to think about that because you’re afraid they’ll turn out like Aiden and Jesse. Am I right?”  
  
  
  
“Well – I –“  
  
  
  
Jay holds up a hand, instantly shutting Louis up politely, “Hun, this boy really likes you. I understand where he’s coming from when he said he wants to be able to brag about you – because you’re so damn adorable and you know it. The only reason you won’t allow anything to happen between you two is because of stupid guys in the past.”  
  
  
  
Louis looks down, ashamed because she’s so right.  
  
  
  
“Now,” Louis picks up his head and listens as she continues , “I also get why you’re pissed off about him acting like a prick. But I’ve met Harry, and I know you, and I can tell he’s a sweetheart and you over exaggerate things sometimes. So I don’t know exactly what Harry said when you were dressed up like Tiffany, but I know he only said what he did because he loves you, Lou. Whether you believe it or not, Harry is absolutely in love with you, and he just wants to tell everyone. So instead of looking at all the negatives of what happened this morning,” Jay kisses his temple, “why don’t you try to spot some positives?” She stands once more, and he wants to say something, but for the second time that day he’s lost for words. He watches her open the door, about to let out a groan, but she pauses before completing leaving.  
  
  
  
“I just want you to be happy, Boo. Remember that.” With that, she quietly shuts the door.  
  
  
  
-  
  
  
  
Harry walks through the front doors of the school the next morning, not really in the mood for  _anything_ today. He didn’t even come early to have the cheerleaders paint him for Spirit Friday, because what’s the point really? Louis is his cheerleader and he probably would’ve ignored him. The boy didn’t even text him last night, like he said he would. Harry’s just so tired of it all. Why did he have to reject all the people that would kill to hold hands with him, and why does he have to be in love with the most stubborn one?  
  
  
  
Louis’ personality is so playful and inviting, that’s what attracted Harry in the first place. But then he, of course, had to be gorgeous. It’s not fair at all – really. But what if Harry’s worries were true? What if Louis is too out of his league? He’s Harry Styles, yeah, but he’s not Louis Tomlinson either.  _Louis Tomlinson_ – he’s wanted by everyone and the only reason people hate him is because they’re jealous. Harry’s never had so many people hit on him like Louis, heck, they’re all to shy and it sucks. Maybe if he switches tactics, he’ll –  
  
He arrives at his locker, only to notice it’s decorated head to toe in black and gold paper with his name written in white going down it. ‘Goo Harry!’ ‘hottie right here (;’ ‘Kick that ball!’ ‘Good luck babe!’ It’s all in Louis’ handwriting – and it’s all in silver glitter. Louis did this. Wait, that means that he had to come in early this morning to decorate his locker. Does that mean he’s not mad?  
  
  
  
“Haz!” Harry whips his head around, spotting Louis down the hallway waving a hand. “Come here!”  
  
  
  
Harry blinks once or twice, but eventually gets his feet to start walking. Louis is dressed in his cheer uniform, why wouldn’t he be would be the question, with his stomach painted half black half gold and seniors 2014 written in black eyeliner down his arms. Harry wonders how he’ll make it through the day without being yelled at for dress code violation but appreciates the outfit. “Where were you this morning?” Louis turns his lock, doing the combination.  
  
  
  
Clearing his throat, Harry responds, “I just slept in. I wouldv'e come if you told me –“ he stops himself, “Never mind.”  
  
  
  
“Never mind, what?” He clicks it open, swinging the door open. He shoves his bag into the small space, “Oh,” He smiles, “This is for you. Don’t laugh at the pillow case I forgot I had to let the glitter dry.”  
  
  
  
He extends out a pillowcase full of candy, with Harry’s name and jersey number very sloppily written on the front. Harry takes it with a laugh, “Wow, thanks. Damn you didn’t have to get me so much candy,” He laughs, feeling comfortable again.  
  
  
  
Louis blushes, “Blame Tiffany, I didn’t know the rules. She said you could just trade?”  
  
  
  
“Yeah,” Harry nods, inspecting the insides, “But I’m definitely keeping the Reese’s. Do you want the Twix?”  
  
  
  
“No, I’m good,” Louis smiles. “I still have some body paint left. Later on today I’ll paint you before the pep rally, sound good?”  
  
  
  
“Totally,” He smiles back.  
  
  
  
The first bell rings, telling the students they have three minutes to get to homeroom. Louis gets his math notebook and shuts his locker. Harry starts to walk towards his respective classroom when Louis whispers, “Haz?”  
  
  
  
“Yeah?” he whispers back. People bump into his shoulders but all he focuses on are Louis’ lips.  
  
  
  
“We’ll talk about yesterday later, yeah? I wanna enjoy today.” Harry licks his own lips, but nods nonetheless. Louis instantly brightens, leaving a sweet kiss on his cheek, “Okay I’ll see you in a few minutes.” And he’s off down the hall to his homeroom, before Harry could say a word.  
  
  
  
  
  
-  
  
  
  
  
  
“Oh I love this song!” Louis yells over the constant **,**  loud chatter of everyone. “And I would do it for youuuu,” he points to Tiffany like a celebrity would to a fan on stage, “for  _youuuu_ baby I’m not moving on I’ll love you long after you’re gone! For youuu for youuu –”  
  
  
  
Harry comes up behind him, draping his arms over his chest, “You’ll never sleep alone, I’ll love you long after you’re-“  
  
  
  
“Gone, gone, gone.” They sing to each other. Louis giggles when the song keeps playing, going on his tippy toes to kiss Harry on the cheek, “Hi!”  
  
  
  
“You seem happy,” Harry laughs, smiling at Eleanor and Tiffany before redirecting his attention back to Louis.  
  
  
  
Harry is shirtless –  _yum_ , Louis can’t help but think – with his chest painted half black and half gold (his doings by the way). He has a big white ‘E’ placed in the middle, for the ‘e’ in seniors.“I’m just really excited,” He brings his voice down, “and I might be a little high but shh no one has to know.”  
  
  
  
“I was with you like ten minutes ago, when did you have time?”  
  
  
  
Louis looks around to see all the different grade levels sitting in four separated sections of bleachers. Each section is decorated for each of the classes’ distinctive colors, with seniors being black and gold. Freshmen are red and white, sophomores are blue and orange, and juniors are purple and yellow. “Niall had some in his car. I could only do like two hits, so I’m fine.”  
  
  
  
Harry shakes his head with a smile, “And you couldn’t tell me?” he whispers, “These things could get boring. Or, it could be awesome. It all depends on how loud everyone is. Like, for my freshman year, no one was into it.”  
  
  
  
“Psh have you  _looked_ around,” Louis motions to everyone, “I mean you’re a prime example, what with your body paint. It looks beautiful, just saying. I compliment whoever did it.” He bites back a smirk.  
  
  
  
Zayn rounds the bleachers, painted with a big ‘S’ on his chest and two streaks of black under his eyes, slapping Harry on the shoulder, “Come on we’re waiting for you.”  
  
  
-  
  
  
The pep rally is as crazy and fun as Louis predicted. The secretary of the school, who proved to be a loud character, got everyone pumped up for the games with a cheer competition. Whichever grade cheered the loudest got to pick what game would be played first. Of course, the seniors dominated. Louis watched, from where the cheerleaders stood in the middle of the gym as Harry, Zayn, and Niall went absolutely nuts. He’s never seen Harry so loud and happy, yelling at everyone to be louder and laughing. “When I say Cheshire, you say Seniors,” Niall bellows – and he’s shirtless too – “ _Cheshire_!”  
  
  
  
And the seniors yell, “ _Seniors_!”  
  
  
  
“ _Cheshire_!”  
  
  
  
“ _Seniors_!”  
  
  
  
“Now that’s what I’m talking about!” The secretary praises into the microphone, “Come on freshman, you’re so quiet over there!”  
  
  
  
The first game that’s picked is the Clothes Race. Tiffany has to put on three layers of clothing, then as she runs through obstacles she has to strip them off. She gets second but all the seniors clap for her anyway.  
  
  
  
When it’s time for the saran wrap race, Louis doesn’t even have time to hate it. He jumps on Harry’s back, wrapping his legs around him easily. Mr. Walsh wraps them in the clear wrap, and Louis laughs into Harry’s ear at how crazy this all is. The other boy teams’ next to them look so uncomfortable with their positions, but with Louis and Harry, it isn’t anything new.  
  
  
  
But Harry would be on top.  
  
  
  
Wink.  
  
  
  
The race is a piece of cake. With Harry being so strong **,**  he glides through the race effortlessly. He trips on his feet a couple of times, nothing too major though. Louis holds on to his shoulders for dear life, afraid to fall, but Harry tightens his grip on his thighs and they continue forward. They come in first, making the seniors go crazy again. Louis **’**  unwrapped, giving Harry a kiss for the job well done. Everyone coos at that. Louis flips them all off and lets Harry go back to the bleachers.  
  
  
  
Right before the pep rally ends, the cheerleaders perform a new half time dance. Louis gets to do his helicopter, Tiffany gets thrown up in the air for a flip, and Lucy manages to do her flip without falling. When the dance ends, Louis scans the senior bleachers for Harry. There’s a home game tonight, against one of the toughest teams that Cheshire will have to beat in order to move on. Louis talked it over with Harry today and they agreed to get something to eat beforehand.  _Not_  a date. Just some McDonalds – or pizza. Zayn and Niall are probably tagging along too, so, definitely not a date.  
  
  
  
But someone else catches Louis’ eye – a kid in the upper right hand corner, typing away on his phone. He doesn’t look familiar at all – not to mention he looks bored out of his mind. New kid? Probably.  
  
  
  
The boy looks up to stare right back at Louis. Instead of shyly looking away, Louis continues to stare at him. He smirks.  
  
  
  
Everyone piles off the bleachers, heading to the exits since technically the school day is over. “I hope to see you all at the home game tonight!” That’s the last thing the secretary yells into the microphone before shutting it off.  
  
  
  
Cocking his head towards the door, Louis watches in a daze as the kid walks out of the gym doors. Harry appears in front of him the next instant, snapping him out of his trace. “Hey!” Harry’s cheeks are bright red – adorable as always. “Ready to go?”  
  
  
  
“Yeah, uh, give me a few minutes I have to go talk to someone.” Louis sidesteps the captain, making his way to the same door the kid just walked out of.  
  
  
  
Just like he predicted, the new boy is leaning against the sidewall with a cigarette dangling from his mouth. Louis slowly walks up to him, jutting out a hip to lean into the sidewall a foot away. “Mind if I bum one from ya mate?”  
  
  
  
The boy doesn’t say anything, digging in his pocket for his pack. Plucking a cig from it, Louis slips it from his fingers with their hands brushing together with ease. Louis has always been a social smoker - he especially likes to use the tactic to hit on fit guys that might take him home.  
  
  
  
Louis doesn’t ask before standing right in front of him, slipping his free hand into the boy’s back pocket and fetching his lighter. For good measure he squeezes his arse, just for a reaction. He doesn’tdo anything but laugh airily. “Haven’t changed a bit Lou **.** ”  
  
  
  
“That a good or a bad thing?” Louis winks, pulling out the lighter with another light squeeze at Nick’s arse before leaning away. He flicks his finger over the thumbwheel in one swift motion, letting a flame flare up. With his cigarette placed between his lips, he cups his mouth and lights the end. “Juvi huh?”  
  
  
  
Nick shrugs, taking a long drag. Louis scrunches up his nose around the rollup.  
  
  
  
“For what then?”  
  
  
  
“Dealing,” and Nick says it so casually, making Louis’ insides flutter. It just makes him want to get more answers – almost desperate.  
  
  
  
“Hm,” Louis nods slowly, not really concentrated on his cigarette, “never saw you as that type.”  
  
  
  
“Yeah well,” He pulls his shoulders up again in a noncommittal shrug. His leather jacket creases with his movement.  
  
  
  
Louis scrambles for something to continue this – and Nick may or may not notice how he’s struggling and maybe laughs silently.  
  
  
  
“How’s Beth?”  
  
  
  
“Dead.”  
  
  
  
Louis’ eyebrows rise, choking out a “How?”  
  
  
  
“Drive by shooting.”  
  
  
  
“No kidding,” he breathes out, dazed. Beth and Nick were two of his only friends in Bradford. And being that Bradford wasn’t the best area, Nick and Beth were caught up in the drugs and violence growing up.  
  
  
  
Louis came to that school sophomore year in bright colored skinny jeans and a posh London Private accent, and all Nick wanted to do was ruin him. But after Louis broke down crying after they fucked, Nick couldn’t just let him go back through the halls of Bradford knowing he wouldn’t be able to handle it. So he protected him as best he could, evening getting his best friend Beth to take pity on the new boy. It wasn’t proved affective, Louis was still tormented, but they couldn’t always be there for him. Even with the college boy named Aiden breaking his heart and taking his ‘gay’ virginity, he still went out with Nick to fuck random guys to try to block out his past. It still caught up with him, and Jack took advantage of his desperate personality. Louis didn’t show up to school that Monday, in fact he never came back. He stopped talking to everyone and anyone from Bradford because he felt like he couldn’t trust any of them – including Nick and Beth.  
  
  
  
“You’re lucky you left when you did,” Nick bites his lip, not allowing his emotions to break his hard shell. Beth was the only girl – and person – that he’s ever considered a true friend. That’s why after she died, he forced his family to move somewhere where he could start over. It felt so wrong being at that school without her.  
  
  
  
“I mean… I guess,” Louis is dumbstruck. He feels an overwhelming sense of guilt. Beth was and always been nice to him, taking him under her wing with no question. Now she’s dead, and he never even said a proper goodbye.  
  
  
  
Nick knows the look on Louis’ face means he’s deep in thought, obviously thoughts of Beth, and he doesn’t want him to get himself down. He still holds a certain protectiveness over the slightly younger boy, “So… you got a new boy toy?”  
  
  
  
Louis wrinkles his nose, “No?”  
  
  
  
Stomping out his burnt out cigarette, he lights up another. “The curly fellow?”  
  
  
  
Louis lets the flamed end burn up the stick to ashes and throws it to the cement. He sighs, knowing the boy is talking about Harry. “We’re not dating.”  
  
  
  
“You were kissing him.”  
  
  
  
He rolls his eyes at how obvious Nick sounds, “So what?”  
  
  
  
“And holding hands…”  
  
  
  
“Does that bother you?” Louis snaps.  
  
  
  
The old friend shrugs, pulling the smoke into his mouth and blowing it out, “I’m just pointing out it’s obvious what’s going on between you two,”  
  
  
  
“You’re the only person who thinks me and Harry are together,” he lies. It’s not like Nick would know the difference.  
  
  
  
“Harry, is it?” Nick nods towards the ground. The sounds of inside the gym are a distant sound filling his ears besides both their breathing. “I didn’t even know you went to this school until this kid said ‘that’s Harry Styles’ boyfriend’ and pointed to you.”  
  
  
  
“I don’t like him like that,” Louis weakly defends, like he’s trying to convince himself. He kicks around a small pebble at his feet.  
  
  
  
“So you aren’t dating but you kiss and obviously fuck then follow each other around like lost puppies?”  
  
  
  
Louis groans at how Nick can basically read him like a book, “What makes you think we are besides what you just said?”  
  
  
  
“Hey if you aren’t then –“  
  
  
  
“Sure he fucks me good but that’s all he’s good for.” Lie.  
  
  
  
Nick regrets ever asking. “I don’t really care –“  
  
  
  
“He smothers me, like I can’t even go anywhere without him asking to go or like him texting me the whole time,” Louis grows frustrated. “He always calls me gorgeous, walks with me everywhere, texts me when I’m trying to sleep and I just –“  
  
  
  
The old friend shakes his head, “It sounds like you’re realizing how much you like him,” he smiles a little, “and I honestly think it’s adorable.”  
  
  
  
“Nick –“  
  
  
  
“No. Listen to me,” Nick breathes, and Louis looks up at him through his long eyelashes. He looks so innocent, and Nick just wants to cradle him in hug to make sure he’s never hurt again, “I haven’t see you a while, yeah? But Harry obviously likes you, a lot, and you like him. If he promises to treat you right, then you shouldn’t hold yourself back ‘cause you’re afraid he might turn out like those dicks. Not everyone is like Aiden, or Jack, you’re just always attracted to the arseholes and it always ends up slapping you in the face,” Louis looks down, knowing Nick’s right. But he doesn’t know about Jesse. Jesse is the real reason Louis’ so afraid of dating Harry. “And besides,” Louis peers up once more, “It’s really easier just to say you’re dating him than spend ten minutes denying it.”  
  
  
  
Louis laughs at him, gently pushing Nick’s shoulder, “I suppose you’re right.”  
  
  
  
They hold eye contact for a few moments where they just smile softly at each other. Nick has always loved how blue Louis’ eyes are, and he loves how they shine with his smile and make his whole face light up. “Remember the first time I kissed you?” Nick breaks the silence.  
  
  
  
“That was two years ago,” Louis tilts his head.  
  
  
  
“And remember how I told you I’d protect you from all the arseholes like me that try to use you?”  
  
  
  
He nods, “Yeah,” thinking back to the night. He doesn’t know why to this day he let himself cry in front of Nick. They just fucked and the boy was trying to get him to leave, and it triggered something. But he’s mostly glad, because otherwise Nick wouldn’t have became his protector and best friend.  
  
  
  
“Don’t forget that.” Nick stomps out his cigarette, leaving the topic hanging in the air, “I’ll see you.”  
  
  
  
“You will,” Louis watches him walk back into the gym, blinking at the sky when he’s alone. “What the fuck just happened,” he whispers, letting out a little chuckle as he makes his way back into the gym to find Harry.  
  
  
  
-  
  
  
  
  
  
It’s later, when they’re all at the game and Cheshire is winning 4-3 that Louis stupidly decides he needs to talk to Harry. He hates how it’s at a time when Harry needs to remain happy in order to win, but Louis has been biting his nails the whole first half. He’s thought about what’s he’s going to say when Niall, Zayn, Harry, and him went for pizza. This conversation has been needed for the longest time, and Louis’s going through with it no matter what.  
  
  
  
He pulls Harry from the benchers, dragging the laughing captain to behind the bleachers with spectators. “What’s up?” Harry’s eyes are bright like stars, making Louis feel even worse.  
  
  
  
“I’ve thought about what you said.”  
  
  
  
He stops bouncing on his toes, turning serious. “Okay.”  
  
  
  
“And um I - whatever we are, I –  _itneedstoend_.” Louis rushes out, biting his lip.  
  
  
  
Harry never thought his emotions could be flipped so easily. “W-what?”  
  
  
  
“It’s not you – I mean, it’s obviously me but like, ugh,” Louis groans, beginning to pace back and forth, “I’ve rehearsed this like a million times. Harry, it’s just that you’re in a stage of, of  _this_ , that I’m not. And it fucking scares me.”  
  
  
  
“Why?” Harry steps closer but Louis steps back farther.  
  
  
  
“I don’t think I could ever like you more than a friend. I tried, I really did. Today, I like, I really tried –”  
  
  
  
Harry’s eyes almost bulge out of his eyes, “What are you-“  
  
  
  
“I don’t do relationships Harry – I told you. I don’t go on  _dates_ , I don’t have  _boyfriends_ , I’m – I’m not a one guy type. I know, even if I were to change my mind, that I’ll end up cheating on you ‘cause I’m a slut –“  
  
  
  
“No you aren’t –”  
  
  
  
“Stop Harry. Everyone else thinks so too, there’s no point in arguing, okay?”  
  
  
  
“But I lo-“  
  
  
  
“ _No_!” Louis screams. Everyone looks but he doesn’t care. His walls is starting to crumble with every second he’s talking – and he was trying to hard to make this fast so it wouldn’t have time to fall. “Don’t say that. You  _don’t_ love me. You don’t even know me.”  
  
  
  
“I know you’re beautiful Lou,” Harry traps Louis on the wall, cupping his jaw and making Louis stare into his eyes so he sees how sincere his words are. He can’t lose this boy, he  _can’t_. “I know you’re  _so_ beautiful and that you’re an amazing person and you’re smart– like do you know how  _rare_ that is? Why won’t you just let me –“  
  
  
  
“No,” Louis, shaking his head, starts to tear up, “no, Harry, I don’t deserve you okay? _I’m messed up_. People don’t love me. They never have. You just – Harry I’m doing this because it’s what’s best for you. Just – go find someone else –  _love_ someone else –“  
  
  
  
“Louis, I love  _you_ ,” his voice quivers at that. Harry thought the first time he’d say those three words was when they’d be in a relationship, happy, stress free, but Louis just doesn’t _get it_. Harry’s never been an emotional guy. He’s never had these types of feelings for  _anyone_ , and then have that person don’t even like him back. Is this what love feels like? Cause, fuck, it’s so hard. To put all of those emotions into words, to know they don’t love you back but you can’t stop thinking about them – Harry’s honestly never had to work for something this hard before.  
  
  
  
Shaking his head more furiously, Louis gently claws at Harry’s arms but doesn’t push him away. “No you don’t, stop it.”  
  
  
  
“Why won’t you believe me?” He insists, absolutely refusing himself to cry. Harry Styles does not cry.  
  
  
  
The game is nearly starting up again, with students and fans piling back on the bleachers above them. The chatter fills the silence. Louis bites his lip, “It’s only been three months, barely that,” he whispers, “I just – how? How could you love me?”  
  
  
  
“There’s this thing called love at first sight,” he smiles a bit despite what’s going on, “it’s this really cliché saying that when soul mates meet, it’s like when they look at each other, they know. They know that they want to spend the rest of their life with that someone, just from a look. I’ve never – I’ve never thought it was impossible. I mean, come on, who could love someone in such a short time?” Harry takes a breath, “But I know it’s not impossible. You know why?” The smile creeps up on his lips again – that kind of adoring smile that at least shows how much he feels for Louis, “Cause that happened to me. Three months ago. On that very field out there, right in front of these bleachers.”  
  
  
  
There it is. Louis’ walls crumbling to nothing. But he doesn’t want to cry. All he feels are butterflies in his stomach, swarming up to his chest where his heart lays then fluttering back down. His heart feels so warm – something he’s never felt before. Not with Aiden, Jack, or Jesse when he first laid eyes on them. He never thought that his walls would crumble for happiness – or maybe, just maybe – they’re breaking his past to open up his future. A future where he doesn’t let anything or anyone from his past make him hold back when it comes to love.  ** _“_** _Harry obviously likes you, a lot, and you like him_ ” Nick’s words replay in his head from before.  
  
  
  
Harry was the key that would make his walls fall – he always has been.  
  
  
  
They’re soul mates.  
  
  
  
Soft sobs escape his lips, making Harry’s worry grow. But for once, Louis’s happy – he’s so fucking happy that he’s overwhelmed and begins to cry. Harry tentatively kisses the tears running down his cheeks, leaning in to seals their lips, gently and loving – no one has ever been so caring.  
  
  
  
“O-okay,” Louis whispers broken, but not the type of broken, that damages – the type that opens up new possibilities.  
  
  
  
“What?”  
  
  
  
“Fine,“ Louis smiles up at the boy – no,  _angel_.“I’ll be your boyfriend.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i wanna dedicate this chapter to the beatiful anon whos been rp with me on k.fm for like DAYS and i think shes sent me like 500 questions omg i love uuu


	20. chapter xviii

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> (finally) Louis & Harry's first date

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> btw ao3 fucked up some of the text and deleted spaces soifyouseesomethinglikethis just ignore for rn. ill try to fix asap

At 7:30, Louis and Harry are in line at Starbucks. Harry has his arms wrapped around his waist from behind, supporting his chin on Louis’ shoulder. The smaller boy giggles, mainly because Harry’s hair tickles his neck, but also because he’s just happy - happy that he’s able to call this wonderful person his boyfriend.

 

After half time on Friday, Louis has felt nothing but butterflies in his stomach whenever Harry would give him the slightest amount of attention. It’s weird, the feeling of belonging to one boy. But Louis loves it; he loves how he doesn’t have to worry about impressing anyone anymore.

 

He’s always known when he finally got a boyfriend then he would give up on dressing, as one might put it, desperate. Desperate for someone to notice and give him the attention he desires. Now he knows what that feels like, but it’s not at all like he imagined. This morning, it took him at least ten extra minutes to sort through his closet for an outfit. He _has_ given up on dressing because he’s desperate, but now his purpose is to keep Harry’s attention.

                                                                                               

There’s this nagging voice in the back of his head that constantly reminds him that Harry might get bored. He might leave when he realizes that there’s nothing special about Louis. So now, he’s focused on impressing his boyfriend – and making him want to stay. It’s stupid, he knows, but he’s new to this whole dating thing. There are so many emotions he’s been experiencing that he’s never dealt with before.

                                                                       

Is this what having a boyfriend feels like?

 

But when Harry’s arms tighten around his middle, and his deep voice whispering sweet endearments in his ear, Louis knows it’s all worth it.

 

“So when we get to school **,** are we gonna tell everyone?”

 

Shrugging his shoulders, Louis replies,“I don’t see why not.”

 

Harry buries his face in the space where Louis’ shoulder meets his neck, “That’s the spirit,” He mumbles sarcastically.

 

“No,” Louis laughs, “I didn’t mean it like a _chore_. I just meant why keep it a secret, yeah?”

 

“Yeah,” Harry leaves a fluttering kiss on his neckline, “I think some people have bets on us.”

 

“Are you serious?”

 

“Heard Niall saying something about you saying yes before Christmas.”

 

He rolls his eyes, muttering ‘idiot’ because really, he would have at least said yes before his birthday.

 

-

 

It’s lunchtime when Louis wants to tell everyone about him and Harry.

 

The whole day, they both have been quiet for the strangest reason. They aren’t ashamed of their relationship, but rather scared how people are going to react.

 

Niall idly picks at his sandwich, for once in his life not really hungry. Mondays are always a downer in his opinion, and he never liked when people around him are too tired or depressed to talk. He goes through his entire day sitting through classes, and when lunch comes, he expects a nice conversation with his friends. But even Louis wasn’t chatting today, so Niall brings up a topic he knows will get the cheerleader to start talking.

 

“Lou did you hear that your boy Justin spit on his fans?”

 

The table picks their heads up to look at Louis expectantly. Louis narrows his eyes from where he sits next to Harry (and they were _not_ playing footsies under the table) and answers, “Yeah, so?”

 

“He’s such a fucking prick.” Niall knows he’s testing the waters with that one.

 

But instead of lashing out, Louis rolls his eyes, “He’s not like that. He’s _actually_ a great person.”

 

“Really now?” He says sarcastically.

 

“Yeah. He was just joking.”

 

“Well he was photographed spitting and laughing about it.”

 

“But you have to put yourself in a fan’s shoes. Like, if he spit on me, I would _thank_ him. No, I would cry cause he’s _on_ me. God, I wish he would spit on me.”

 

Niall covers up his laugh and responds, “I bet you wish he would spit in a lot of places.”

 

Everyone at the table bursts with laugher, some even dropping their phone, but Louis and Harry stay oddly quiet.

 

Niall stops his chuckling and looks at them, noticing there’s something off, “Hey what’s going on between you two? You’re acting funny.”

 

And it clicks when Louis and Harry make eye contact.

 

“Everyone!” Niall suddenly bellows, standing up on his chair to make sure the whole cafeteria can see him.

 

“Niall!” Louis whisper shouts, trying to tug his friend down.

 

“This is not a drill! Harry and Louis are officially dating! I repeat - this is _not_ a drill! Jon you owe me ten bucks!”

 

Louis’ cheeks tint pink, and he embarrassingly buries his face in Harry’s neckwhile all the people around them coo.

 

-

 

They walk with their hands clasped together, heads down, and shoulders brushing. Louis focuses on his shoelaces and Harry watches his jeans swoosh with his walk. From the perspective of someone watching them, he would probably think the two boys aren't even paying attention to one another. When in reality, they’re whispering about little things, like how they’re day was and how warm it is in November.

 

Louis is smiling all small and cute because Harry keeps complimenting how stunning he looks today. And Louis tries to compliment the boy back, but ends up stammering because he’s still getting used to all the new attention. It’s Friday, a whole week since they’ve officially been a couple, and Louis still doesn’t know how to react to things like that.

 

Today is also their first formal date. Harry texted Louis on Wednesday, giving him details on what he has planned, and for the first time Louis didn’t fight it. Since there’s no cheer or football practice (Louis thinks Harry arranged for both to be cancelled just for their date and gets butterflies from it) Harry is going to pick him up at 3:30 for the date to start. When Louis questioned why so early, Harry explained how they’re going to be out for a very long time – maybe even until midnight – and it would be best if they left as earlier as possible.

 

The last bell of the day just rung – of course Harry met Louis at his locker to help his boyfriend pack up – and Louis has thirty minutes to go home and get changed for his first date – like, ever.

 

“Alright I’ll come get you in a little bit,” Harry stops in front of Louis’ car.

 

Louis holds both of Harry’s hands and stands on his tippy toes to kiss him, "See you then,” he whispers in his mouth. Everyone seems stare as he climbs into his car and drives off.

 

-

 

True to his word, Harry is outside his house at half past 3. He’s wearing a maroon colored sweater and black skinnies, with his hair perfectly styled to the side like always. Louis chose a sweater too, but his is knitted white and he’s wearing blue, somewhat skinny, jeans. Harry said they weren’t going anywhere fancy so dress comfortably.

 

They kiss for a few minutes up against Harry’s black mustang, because hey, they’re dating and Louis just loves having their lips pressed together. But it just feels different now; different as in he knows no one else can kiss Harry but him.

 

Harry opens his door like a gentleman, and Louis nods his head shyly then sits down. When Harry shuts the door to his own side, Louis notices his shakes shake a bit as he slides the key into the slot. He smiles slightly, feeling a sense of relief because he knows now that he’s not the only one nervous here.

 

“You alright, love?” Louis speaks softly. That’s another thing Louis has had to get used to. He doesn’t want to be loud and obnoxious anymore, meaning he has to try and change his personality to be calmer. Harry is the only one he wants to impress, so no more yelling just to try to get attention. He knows Harry will pay attention to him at all times.

 

“What?” Harry shifts the gear to drive and starts off towards the main highway, “Oh, I’m fine. Just, you know, I’ve kinda been waiting for this for months and I really want you to like it.”

 

His heart melts just a little bit. “Babe I already like you, so I don’t care if we go eat at a bloody truck stop – anywhere will make me happy.”

 

“I’m glad, ‘cause I’m not sure where we’re eating yet,” Harry winks, taking his hand off the gear and offering it to Louis. The cheerleader takes in his, laying their hands on top his lap.

 

There are not a lot of cars on the highway at this hour, making Harry’s car engine the only sound in their ears. About ten minutes into it, Louis can’t take the silence anymore. Why are they acting awkward around each other? They’ve practically been dating for months now.

 

Louis leans up against the passenger window, “Okay let’s play a game.”

 

Keening his ears to listen, Harry nods with an “Alright.”

 

“I’m going to name an artist and you say your favorite song by them.”

 

“Cool. You first?”

 

“Hm, Ed Sheeran.”

 

“That’s tough. I’ll have to go with Small Bump.”

 

“The one about the baby? Aw.” Louis squeezes Harry’s hand adoringly.

 

“Yeah, the lyrics are really well written.”

 

“I agree.” Louis bites his lip, “Do you ever want kids? They sound scary.”

 

“They’re not scary, it’s just I don’t know how they’ll affect my life, yeah?”

  
“Yeah. Someone told me it costs, like, 250 grand in the kid’s whole lifetime.”

 

Harry’s eyebrows raise, “Seriously?”

 

With a nod, Louis answers, “I’m serious. With school and clothes and food, yeah, it comes out to that much. Sometimes more.”

 

“Damn, that’s – wow.” But really, Harry never has to worry about money. But having to spend a quarter of a million dollars on one kid? “Imagine having four? A million dollars right there. And like you said, sometimes more.”

 

“I know right. Okay, you ask me.”

 

He doesn’t have to think twice about it. “Justin Bieber.”

 

Louis looks at him with a deadpan expression, “You’re trying to kill me.”

 

Knotting his eyebrows together, Harry laughs. “I thought you loved him.”

 

“I do!” he whines, “But making me choose one song is impossible.”

 

“Then name top three.”

 

“Still impossible, but hm,” he pauses to think. A bright red Nissan flies past them, making Louis internally cringe at the color. “Third would have to be One Less Lonely Girl – that song is so fucking sweet. Second, uh, Boyfriend.”

 

“That song sucks I’m sorry.”

 

Louis waves his hand, “A lot of people think that don’t worry.”

 

“His voice was not meant to try to rap.”

 

“I know, I know. But it’s so different from what he usually sings and I love it.”

 

“I get that. And first?”

  
“Drummer Boy on his Christmas album.”

 

“Out of all his songs you pick a church remake?” Harry chuckles at Louis’ hard look.

 

“No, like, it’s not just him singing that slow version song from church. He raps and Busta Rhymes features in it. I don’t know.” He sighs,“Okay, next. Bruno Mars.”

 

“Definitely Runaway Baby.”

 

Louis laughs but nods at the same time, the two coming out to look very weird, “Same though!”

 

“I don’t dance but I could try for that song.”

 

“I love that one line where he’s like ‘there’s only one carrot and they all got to share it!’” Louis dances in his seat, making Harry giggle. He only giggles for Louis, and Louis loves it.

 

“Yeah! That guy is legend, I swear.”

 

Crinkling his nose, “I don’t know about _that_. Like, yeah, he has some good songs but he’s nothing compared to the Beatles.”

 

Harry looks over at him, surprised, “You like the Beatles?”

  
“Not particularly but I respect them.”

 

“Okay, then it’s my turn to ask. The Beatles.”

 

“Hm, don’t laugh, but Here Comes the Sun.”

 

“Gay.”

 

His mouth drops open, “Hey! I _am_ gay thank you very much but I don’t know, that song makes me unknowingly happy.”

 

Harry does this face where his lips flatten but in a joking way, “I think people who say that’s their favorite song don’t actually know anything about the Beatles.”

 

“I never said I was a fan, mister!”

 

“Still.”

 

“Then what’s _your_ favorite song?” Louis counters.

 

“Hands down, Help!”

 

“Help what?”

 

“No, that’s the song.”

 

“Oh, well that goes to prove I know nothing about them.”

 

“One of these days I’ll show you their albums. My dad has this vintage record player with all the vinyl albums.”

 

Louis plays with the spaces in between Harry’s fingers, muttering, “Filthy hipster, you.”

 

“That’s not hipster.”

 

He eyes his thoughtfully, “Everything about you screams hipster, Haz, sorry to break it to you.”

 

“Fine, I’m not even going to ask. Your turn to ask me.”

 

His other favorite Justin, “Justin Timberlake.”

 

“Now _he’s_ a legend.” Harry points his finger on free hand then lays it back on the steering wheel.

 

“I agree with you on that.”

 

“Favorite song would have to be Mirrors.”

 

“I like Rock Your Body better.” Louis retorts.

 

“What about Holy Grail?”

 

“I love the chorus, I don’t like Jay Z’s part.”

 

“Yeah, same. I feel like it kind of ruins it.”

 

“Right? No, but Justin I definitely think will go down in the hall of fame – if he isn’t already.”

 

Harry steps on the gas pedal, swerving past an elder that was going way to slow, and keeps going. “Did you see the tribute at the VMAs?”

 

“Oh my god, don’t get me started!” Louis smiles huge,“I flipped shit when In Sync came out.”

 

“I had a bet with Niall if they would perform and I won.”

 

“How much did you win?”

 

Harry shrugs, “A grand.”

 

Rolling his eyes, Louis scolds, “That’s stupid.”

 

“Was I right?” he singsongs.

 

The smaller boy giggles, “I guess.”

 

“I was and still got to enjoy the performance.”

 

“Remember Miley’s thing at the beginning of the show?”

 

“I walked out of the room when she came out in the teddy bear suit.”

 

“But it was so funny! I love Miley but she’s fucking crazy.”

 

“So what’s your favorite song by her?”

 

Louis clicks his tongue, “I Miss You.”

 

“I never heard of it.”

 

“Yeah… that’s cause it was on the Hannah Montana meets Miley Cyrus album.” Louis whispers the last part, but Harry hears it loud and clear.

 

“Do I have to slap you or…?”

 

“No! No I swear I only listen to that song. If you heard it you would understand why I love it.”

 

“But it’s on a _Hannah Montana_ -“

 

“It’s a good song!” Louis protests,“She wrote it when her grandpa passed away.”

 

“Alright, alright. Next?”

 

“Adele.”

 

Harry purses his lips to one side,“I actually haven’t heard anything new from her in a while.”

 

“I heard from someone she was pregnant and had to take a break.”

 

The curly headed boy looks at him weird, “Nooo I think she had lung cancer.”

 

Nodding, Louis replies, “That makes more sense. Cause she smoked, right?”

 

“Yeah, at least I think. I’m not 100 percent sure. But my favorite song has to be Rumor Has It.”

 

“Ohh I forgot about that one. I like Rolling in the Deep way better, though. And before you say anything, yes, I know it’s too mainstream for your taste.”

 

“I _wasn’t_ going to say that but it’s sort of true. That song was so overplayed.”

 

“Happens all the time.”

 

“Locked out of Heaven – prime example.”

 

“Yeah, true.” Louis frowns,“Poor Bruno. But Rolling in the Deep was way worse.”

 

“Or what about Starships.”

 

“That song literally hurts my ears I’ve heard it so much. No offense to Nicki.”

 

Harry wipes his nose, “I don’t know, I’m not a big fan of her.”

 

“I could see why you wouldn’t be. She’s more for girls.”

 

“ _American_ girls. Those people are crazy.”

 

“Well if you think about it, I’m a gay cheerleader so in America that’s kinda crazy.”

 

“Why is that crazy? Who cares if you’re happy?”

 

“Yeah, no. Americans are always like ‘we’re the home of the free and land of the brave’ when in reality they fucking hate gays and no one’s brave enough to put a stop to banning gay marriage.”

 

“That’s fucked up. I don’t understand why it’s such a big deal over there.”

 

“Right?” Louis lets out a frustrated noise, “I don’t wanna get all worked up about that. Was it your turn to ask me?”

 

“This game isn’t really working.” Harry concludes with a laugh.

 

“It is! Just ask me another one.”

 

“Fun.”

 

Louis squeals a bit, “The lead singer is so cute!”

 

“He’s old, like 30 or something.”

 

“I highly doubt that.”

 

“He looks like it.” Harry grumbles.

 

“No! And besides I just love his voice.”

 

“He sounds like a boy who’s going through puberty.”

 

“Fuck off!” Louis cackles, “he does not!”

 

Harry shrugs his shoulders, “Just saying.”

 

“Well don’t say anything.” He quickly adds, “Kidding. But hm favorite song has to be Some Nights.”

 

“Yeah, agreed.”

**__ **

They drive for two more hours, conversation flowing between the two boys effortlessly. It feels easier, knowing Louis doesn’t have to try as much to please Harry anymore. He can just ramble about nonsense and Harry will listen with interest.

 

But into the first hour, after they both determined the game was going no where, Louis turned on the radio and they sang along to whatever crap was playing. Most of the timethe station would become static every mile or so, so Louis was on radio station duty while Harry made sure he focused on the road.

 

Louis wants to question why they’ve been driving so long, and looking towards the sky, he notices the sun was about ten minutes away from touching the horizon. It lights up the sky with an arrangement of beautiful colors, making Louis forget what he’s suppose to ask in the first place.

 

Louis rests his arm on the windowsill, looking out on the sunset with a withdrawn smile on his face. Harry peers over to him, grins, and squeezes his thigh to get his attention. With a small hum, Louis doesn’t really pick up his head but his eyes glance towards his boyfriend. 

 

“You’re just as beautiful as that sunset,” he takes his eyes off the road for a spilt second, but it’s way worth it seeing Louis’ eyes turn to hearts.

 

“Aw Hazza,” he coos, wanting to lean over and hug the daylights out of him but can’t due to him driving. “I would say something cheesy back but I can’t think of anything.”

 

“You know what I was trying to be romantic –“

 

Louis cuts him off with a titter, “No! It was adorable. Thank you babe,” and he leans over to kiss him on the cheek.

 

Harry drives down the long highway, not taking a chance by going off the main road and finding them in lost.

 

Around six, Louis whines that he’s hungry.

 

“Where are we going?” he starts to become impatient, watching the cars pass by, “Are we almost there yet?”

 

“We’re not actually going anywhere.”

 

Narrowing his eyes, Louis draws out, “What do you mean?”

 

“What I planned was for us to drive out as far as possible, then when one of us gets hungry we find a ratty old diner and have dinner. Like, then if we get married we come back to the same diner and see if the same waitress work there and rememberall the memories of our first date and yeah…” He scrunches his nose, “That sounds dumb, right?”

 

Louis really needs to get out of this car and hug Harry – like, right now.

 

“Did you get that idea off Tumblr or something?” is what he says instead. Because honestly, he’s so overwhelmed with how cute this all is.

 

“No!” Harry protests with a massive smile, “I thought about that all by myself! Why? Is it horrible?”

 

“No, Harry, god.” He groans, “It’s so fucking precious.”

 

-

 

They pick a 60s themed diner, with the paint on the walls chipped and the parking just a dirt lot. Louis loved it at first glance, and Harry knew there wasn’t going to be another diner for miles. So, _Old Mama’s Diner_ is their dinner location.

 

When they walk in, to their surprise there are a few tables taken with old couples slowly enjoying their food. From first glance, Louis isn’t all too disgusted by how the food looks so there’s hope.

 

“Table for two please,” Harry tells the man sitting behind the pay counter.

 

“Right this way,” the man, who has a thick accent that the two boys cannot pinpoint, grabs two menus and lead them to a booth. “Your waitress will be with you shortly.”

 

Louis gets comfortable on the cushion, looking around at his surroundings, “I think we made a good decision. This place is decent.”

 

“I just hope their food isn’t too bad,” Harry opens his menu, laying it out in front of him. Louis does the same.

 

Louis stops deciding on what he’s going to order, “I wonder what town we’re in.”

 

“Same.”

 

“Hey, wanna do something really cliché?” Louis bites his lip.

 

Harry peers his eyes up with interest, “Yeah, what is it?”

 

Reaching down to his pocket, Louis slides his phone out. He sets it in between the two, holding down the Home button until it beeps.

 

“Hey Siri, where are we?”

 

“Just like the commercial,” Harry whispers, and Louis nods happily.

 

“I’ve always wanted to do that.”

 

-

 

“So tell me Haz,” Louis sets down his spoon, soup finished, and directs his attention to the beautiful boy in front from him, “who have you dated before me?”

 

“Is this to see if I have a STD?” Harry leans his body onhis two arms that restacross the table, “Because if it is, then I’m clean I swear.”

 

“No!” He giggles, covering his mouth just incase something were on his teeth, “It’s just a simple get-to-know-you question. Isn’t that how dates are supposed to go? I ask you questions and you ask me then we slowly fall in love?”

 

Harry smirks, “Then we live happily ever after in a obnoxiously large castle overlooking the ocean.”

 

Sipping gingerly on his water, Louis laughs around the straw, “But can our castle be purple? That’s Justin Bieber’s favorite color.”

 

“I swear to god,” Harry mumbles with a shake of his head. “I’ve heard that name at least three times today.”

 

Louis can tell his tone is nothing but fond, like always, and nods enthusiastically. “I can’t help it. Justin is just so loveable.”

 

“I don’t understand what you see in him.”

 

Louis’ eyelashes flutter at the mere thought of the celebrity, “I don’t understand it either. It’s like he has a magnet and it makes me attracted to him. Ha! That sentence totally made sense!”

 

The waitress comes over to tell them their entries will be out in just a few minutes, and Louis’ smile is so big that it makes his upper lip disappearwhen he says thank you.

 

“What were we talking about?” when the waitress is out of earshot, Louis licks his lips in thought, “Oh! Who have you dated?”

 

Clicking his tongue, Harry answers, “Two guys; Cory and Mason. Three girls. Karle, she’s in college now. Josey, she doesn’t go to this school anymore. And my most recent, Caroline –“

 

“Caroline _Flack_? The junior?”

 

“Yeah?”

 

“She’s on JV! You dated her? When?”

 

“Last year for about a year and two months. We broke up the June before you moved here. Why?”

 

He sets his water down, snapping his fingers and saying, “ _That’s_ why she doesn’t like me! Like, whenever I would try to talk to her she’d glare at me or something.”

 

“Has she said anything about me?”

 

“Nope. Well technically she couldn’t cause we weren’t dating at the time. Can you imagine how she’s gunna treat me now? Oh my god.”

 

-

 

The sunset’s glow is faded with the night stars transitioning the sky into darkness by the time they leave hand in hand out the vintage diner. Wind begins to pick up, and Harry hugs the smaller boy close into his defined chest. “Let’s go sit out on my car for a few minutes, I wanna watch the stars with you before we head home.”

 

A small, loving, smile tugs on the corners of the boy’s lip. “Of course.” He turns into his boyfriend’s chest, pressing his lips delicately against the others. Once pulled away, he snuggles in the crook of Harry’s neck.

 

Harry tenderly pulls his hand towards the car, settling down on it then letting Louis do the same. With their bodies touching and hands held together in between the two, they stare up at the sky.

 

“Hey Louis,” Louis looks up at him, his blue eyes shining dimly with the twinkle of the stars, “Thank you for coming out here with me. I couldn’t have asked for a better first date.”

 

“I should be thanking you, babe.” Louis sighs, looking up at the huge canvasof stars shining brightly overhead. Louis mindlessly pets Harry’s palm with his thumb, the gesture making the curly boy’s insides warm. “I love talking to you.”

 

“Same,” Harry breathes, “I don’t remember the last time I actually loved hearing someone talk for so long.”

 

“Is that supposed to be a insult?” There’s no hostility in Louis’ voice, only a gentle tone that makes it obvious he’s a bit tired.

 

Harry shakes his curls, “No, no I meant I love listening to you.”

  
“Even if I just ramble about how cute celebrities are?” Louis turns his head to the side and tilts his head up to smile at the boy.

 

He chuckles slightly, “Even that.”

 

“Now I know when we grow old together and I can’t talk straight, you’ll still love me.”

 

Grow old together. Harry is so gone for this boy.

 

For the next twenty minutes, Louis and Harry sit and talk. Talk about nothing, really, but to Louis it’s everything. This is the sweetest date he’s ever been on – the _only_ date he’s ever been on – but it’s way better than he ever expected. He doesn’t even care that it’s ten at night.

 

Louis unexpectedly laughs, interrupting the peace. "Why are we acting like a bunch of prudes?"

 

Harry's eyebrows knit together in confusion.

 

Before he could say a word, Louis seals their lips. He pulls away with a dirty glint in his eyes, "I want your dick in my mouth," he whispers into Harry's cheek, "First date or not I’ve been thinking about it all night."

 

Harry wants to protest, but all he does is moan.

 

With quick movements, Louis rolls on top of Harry. He needs to thank this boy for making his first date the best experience he could ever dream of. 

 

And what better way to do it then sucking his dick?

 

But he knows Harry wants this to be a romantic night, so he takes it slow. He teases Harry by grinding lightlydown on his crotch, making Harry bite his lip trying to contain from begging. Hooking a finger in his belt loop, Louis pulls his jeans down with practiced ease, only going down to Harry’s mid thigh. With his cock out in the open, Louis scoots down to be eyelevel, licking his lips.

 

He starts off with little kitten licks, knowing that’s what drives Harry absolutely crazy. But once he himself can’t take it anymore, Louis engulfs his dick entirely, relaxing his throat to take him all the way down. Harry breathes hard through his nose, gripping Louis’ hair. He’s usually the one for dirty talk, but he’s speechless. They’re on his car, right next to a diner with people, and Louis’s blowing him like they’re completely alone. It’s extremely hot, being this reckless and open.

 

Harry picks up his head, brushes pieces of hair that are plastered to his forehead from sweat, and looks down at Louis. He’s loud – humming, moaning, and slurping as he bobs his head. He holds eye contact with Harry, keeping his hands on his boyfriend’s thighs and squeezing when he deep throats.

 

Harry brushes his fingers throughthe boy’s hair more urgently, just to feel something, and Louis pops off his cock, giving him a suggestive smile. He tilts his head, holding up Harry’s cock by the base, and licks the flat of his tongue up and down the entire length. And Harry – Harry loves the way Louis is so playful when he does this, like he’s confident knowing how it makes Harry weak to his knees.

 

Louis sticks out his tongue, makes sure their eyes are locked and slaps Harry’s cock against it a couple times.The precum dribbles out of the tip splashes on Louis’ face, making Harry hiss in pleasure.

 

Harry’s dick is so warm and thick on his soft tongue, and Louis moans from the feeling. He loves the feel of Harry, filling his mouth with the sweet taste of precumhitting the back of his throat. The drag and texture of Harry has Louis' head spinning, making his own cock swell up. He’s always been addicted to how a dick feels between his lips, how the head is smooth compared toforeskin, making deep throating much easier with a soft slit pressed into him.

 

He relaxes his throat, moving his hands around the base. Harry’s thighs tremble under Louis' chest where he’s pressed up against him, his hips lightly thrusting into the wet heatsurrounding him – a warning that he’s about to cum.

 

"Fuck babe," Harry moans lowly, his voice rough. Louis picks up the pace, bobbing his head faster to try to get Harry to his orgasm.

 

With one last press to his slit, Harry cums across Louis’ face.

 

Soon after, when Harry realizes Louis didn’t cum, he lays the boy across the back seat of his car – mainly for comfort – and fingers him until he does.

                                                 

He kisses Louis’ cum covered cheeks after he’s done, “By far the perfect ending to a perfect date,” Harry whispers.

 

And maybe on the ride home Louis blows him again as he’s driving. Just maybe.


	21. chapter xix

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> 5k & cuteness

“So you and Harry huh,” Liam nudges Louis with his foot under the table, breaking the silence between the two.

 

Louis looks up from his phone, “What? Oh,” His cheeks tint pink, “I guess you heard.”

 

“Well considering I haven’t seen you all week I figured it out,” Liam laughs, but swiftly adds, “and I might have overheard Niall talking about you two in math.”

 

“What did he say?” Louis doesn’t look at his friend, too focused on sending a Snapchat. Harry, being the bastard he is, just sent him a ten second picture of his dick because he knew Louis would be hanging out with Liam. The caption, after Louis blinked a few moments from shock, read ‘bet you’d love my cock rn’.

 

Positioning the camera so the sun casts a glow across his face, Louis smiles, takes the picture, and adds ‘yeah (;’ as the caption.

 

Liam tugs at his sleeves, feeling awkward due to the fact Louis seems bored already – and it’s only been twenty minutes. They’re at Starbucks, having just picked up their coffee ten minutes ago, and are sat outside the cafe.

 

Louis has been texting Liam all week about how they should hang out but now that they’re together – Louis can’t put down his bloody phone for five minutes to have an actual conversation with him. Even his chai tea sits abandoned on the table. “He was just saying you guys couldn’t keep your hands off each other, that’s really it.”

 

“Well can you blame me?” for the first time since they’ve sat down, Louis looks up from his phone straight into Liam’s eyes, “I mean have you seen Harry? He’s –“

 

“Perfect, I know,” Liam mumbles and sighs shortly after. The wind picks up, blowing one of the napkins off the table. He hugs his coat closer to his body.

 

Louis quiets once more, typing away on his phone and not bothering to notice how his friend glares.

 

“Could you put that down for a minute to talk to me? Seriously,” Liam scoffs, setting his coffee down on the table. “It’s really annoying.”

 

“But I –“ Louis tries but Liam interrupts.

 

“You’re the one who wanted to come here, so, if you want to just text Harry the whole time I’d much rather just go home.” Okay, Liam’s being a little harsh, but he’s tried to make conversation.

 

“I’m not just texting Harry, prick,” Louis snaps.Tapping open his Facebook, he opens his notifications and clicks on Caroline Flack’s new comment. He scoots his chair closer to Liam, showing him the screen.

 

_Caroline Flack’s Latest Post:_ I find it hilarious when whores get boyfriends when you know they’ll end up cheating.

            _Louis Tomlinson_ : why would you make a status about yourself ?

            _Caroline Flack_ : excuse me?

            _Louis Tomlinson_ : I find it hilarious this is obviously about me & Harry

            _Caroline Flack_ : I don’t care about you I’m worried about Harry

_Louis Tomlinson_ : why don’t you just say this shit to my face ?get over him.  He’s mine and he has been since september

_Caroline Flack_ : oh really? he’s been yours while you whored around with just about every guy in our school?

_Louis Tomlinson_ : ahaha that’s funny causeive only slept with Harry this whole time

_Caroline Flack_ : so you fucked a guy when you weren’t even dating? figures.

_Louis Tomlinson_ : what is that suppose to mean

_Caroline Flack_ : youre so dumb what does Harry even see in you

_Louis Tomlinson_ : you make it sound like I have sex everyday even though everyone (including Harry) knows I don’t and theres nothing wrong with friends with benefits. But now we’re dating. OH FUCKING WELL. Mind your own business bitch. this status is so immature IT made me laugh. Grow up.

 

“Okay?” Louis let’s out an annoyed breath, leaning back against his chair and looking back at his screen, “That’s why I’ve been glued to my phone since we’ve been here. I hate it when people say shit behind my back, like, I wouldn’t have even known Caroline posted this if it weren’t for Tiffany texting me about it as soon as you picked me up. Here,” Louis locks his phone and sets it down, “I won’t look at it until you say so.”

 

He smiles, guilty, and starts to apologize, “I’m sorry, Lou. I just – I hate when people are glued to their phone you know? Like, there’s a person in front of you that wants to talk but I feel awkward when you’re doing something –“

 

“Liam, it’s all good,” Louis pulls his sleeves up to cover his hands, reaches for the tea on the table, and brings his legs up to tuck into his chest. He laughs, leaning his head to the side, “We haven’t hung out in like, weeks.”

 

“This is actually only our third time outside of school.” Liam sips at his coffee, “No, wait, four I think. But does that time I picked you up from cheer count?”

 

“Does it matter?”

 

“I suppose not,” he mumbles. He’s not going to lie to himself – Louis is the closest thing he’s had to a friend since last year. Whenever someone would be a friend to him, Liam always latched on. He hates losing anyone in his life, and last year was the worst in that sense. He lost nearly everyone. But Louis is his friend now, and that’s all that matters. And Liam really doesn’t want to lose him.

 

“So how was your weekend, babe? Do anything exciting?” Louis lets the name roll off his tongue without thinking and sips at his tea.

 

“I just stayed home mostly,” Liam mumbles. Louis pouts at him from across the table.

 

“That’s no way to spend your senior year,” he taps his fingers on his cup, thinking about how he could involve Liam in more social events. He’s had a few friends in the past like this – where they don’t want to make the attempt to leave their home instead of actually going out. It’s honestly no way to spend high school, especially when there are so many parties Liam could easily get invited to if he tired half the time. “How about,” an idea pops into his head, “I help you throw a party.”

 

Liam blinks at him. Louis was expecting that reaction.

 

He sets down his tea cup, slips his feet off the chair, and faces Liam, “I know it sounds a bit crazy for your taste,” he smirks when the boy scoffs, “ _but_ I know a lot of out of town people who would kill to come to a mansion party. Especially if that said mansion was on Princeton Ave.”

 

Honestly, the idea of people outside of Cheshire coming to his party doesn’t sound that bad. No one would know him, and in a way that’s good and bad at the same time. “I’m listening.”

 

“All you would have to do is get your parents out of the house, clear off your expensive furniture or whatever, and I’ll do the rest.”

 

The taller boy hesitates. It almost sounds too easy. “Would you invite, like, people from here?”

 

“Well duh,” Louis tilts his head, confused on why Liam looks scared about the idea of Cheshire people coming. “I’m inviting literally everyone, and trust me, there will be a lot of people there. It’ll be a good way to break out of that shell of yours.”

 

The wind picks up, making Liam’s skin rise with goose bumps. “Alright, I’m in.”

                                                                                          

-

 

It’s too cold out on Tuesday to practice outside. It’s November, of course the weather is starting to nip at Cheshire’s skin. Louis loves this time of year, because sweaters everyday sounds perfectly all right with him. He has over 50 different styles and colors. They are folded away in a bin that’s tucked under his bed, due to when they were moving he didn’t have time to sort them all out.

 

Harry’s lying on his bed as Louis sits crossed legged on the floor, shuffling through the huge bin. He loves organizing his clothes by color, meaning all the green or fairly green tinted sweaters in one pile, and all the other colors separated. It helps him keep track of if he’s worn the same color in one week.

 

“I like that color,” Harry lolls his head to the side, lazily pointing to a pile of maroon colored sweaters, “it’d look good on you.”

 

“I know right,” Louis sighs. He laughs at his own confidence, “I actually saw this one zip up at H&M last week and it’s kind of maroon but a bit lighter. I wanted to go in but Tiffany was like “that’s a girl’s jacket” and she literally had to drag me away.”

 

“Was it in the girls’ display case?” he turns his body to lay on one side, with his full attention on Louis instead of his phone. His flannel crinkles where his stomach is, and honestly Louis wants to kiss him. But he seems to want that a lot these days.

 

He bites on his bottom lip – the way he knows Harry falls to his knees to – and focuses on folding a red sweater. “Maybe,” he mumbles, “but! Girls clothes are usually cheaper so yeah. I have a good reason.”

 

“You don’t need a reason baby,” Harry scratches his hip, “I like it when you wear girly clothes. Makes me feel like the man –“

“Excuse you,” Louis holds up a hand in mock offense, “I am not the _girl_ of this relationship. I have a dick and you should treat it with respect.”

 

“Meanwhile you’re the one getting it up the arse –“ a balled up sweater flies into his face, making Harry burst out laughing.

 

Louis shakes his head, not really having a comeback. “Help me fold these you twat, we have practice in a bit.” Deep down, yeah, he loves the idea of being Harry’s _girl_ – but he loves his dick at the same time. Also, who would want a vagina?

 

“I thought Eleanor cancelled ‘cause it’s too cold,” slipping off the bed and to the floor, Harry takes the empty spot next to the bin. He picks up a baby blue one – which would look _adorable_ on Louis **,** god Harry can’t wait to see it on him – and begins to fold.

 

“No, she was just waiting – no, tuck the shoulder in,” Louis corrects Harry’s folding but continues, “anyway, she was waiting ‘til she could book a gym for practices. It wouldn’t be every day, but unlike you, we still have expos coming up.”

 

See, when winter comes along for an all year round outdoor sport like football and cheering, everything is moved indoors. There are not as many games, and these games are not as important, but they are held in indoor stadiums. Harry prefers playing outside, but understands that the weather will not allow that. As much as he wants to win, during this time of year football practices are only held on Wednesdays at an indoor stadium 45 minutes away. It’s the closest place Cheshire could find.

 

“Now that I don’t have practices every day I could come to your expos,” Harry puts the blue sweater with its designated pile, “I’ll try to embarrass you as much as I can,don’t worry.”

 

Louis shakes his head, “Nope I think I’ll embarrass you more. _Hey everyone look how cute my boyfriend is he likes to fuck my tight arse and call it a pussy_ – ah!” Harry puts a hand over his mouth, just in case someone where to be home, and Louis falls on his back. He pulls Harry with him, letting their lips meet. Louis giggles breathless into his boyfriend’s mouth, totally forgetting that Harry’s body probably messed up some piles.

 

“What do you call depressed coffee?” the smaller boy brings boy of his hands up to play with Harry’s curls, not wanting to move from this position. He likes the feeling of Harry’s body pressed right against him; the warmth combined with how amazing he smells only makes it better.

 

Harry trails his lips down Louis’ neck, pampering his skin with little kisses as he travels down. “I don’t know, what?” He lightly bites the hickey he gave Louis yesterday.

 

“ _Depresso_.”

 

He stops sucking at Louis’ neck, coming up to stare into his eyes. Their noses touch, and Louis’s trying really hard not to start laughing. “That was beyond stupid.”

 

But he cannot contain it, and Louis bursts out laughing. Harry feels his body shake with it, and Louis’ laugh is so cute and contagious that he starts to laugh with him.

-

-

Eleanor is in tears when the cheerleaders finally are situated at their new practice gym. Tiffany sits next to her, an arm wrapped around her shoulder, with Louis kneeling in front of her trying to get an explanation on why she’s crying. The others awkwardly stand around the three, not knowing what’s going on or if they should get involved. Caroline, the little fucker she is, is sitting with a group of girls off in the corner of the room and gossiping the hell out of Louis. Louis definitely notices, but right now doesn’t have time to care about that bitch.

 

“Guys,” Eleanor’s voice sounds wrecked, “guys my grandma – she, she,” another sob rocks through her, “s-she’s had lung cancer f-for _months_ and she didn’t t-tell me!” Louis and Tiffany’s eyes go wide in complete shock. The two best friends know that Eleanor and her grandmother are very close. “H-how could she _lie_ to me?” Tiffany brings a thumb up to wipe away the make-up smeared down her face.

 

Louis orders one of the other cheerleaders to get Eleanor’s water bottle from her bag. Lucy comes back quickly with it, and Louis softens his voice, “How and when did you find out?”

 

He gentles hands her the water, and she takes it with shaking hands, “Just before this,” she chokes out, “my mum called me and – and she thought I was home so she told me and I – guys she could _die_!” She cries harder, putting the water down without drinking it, “I love her s-so much, she practically raised me!”

 

“Listen okay?” Louis takes a breath, because this situation is scaring. What if something were to happen to his grandma? She lives all the way in Doncaster, and he hasn’t bothered to talk to her in months. But shaking the guilt away to focus on the situation at hand, he continues, “She’s still alive, okay? You don’t know if the cancer is fatal or not. This is why she didn’t want to tell you – she knew you’d be devastated. All you could do right now is talk to her and help her through this. Just, just don’t assume because she has cancer that she’ll die.”

 

Eleanor sniffles, nodding her head slowly along with Louis’ words. It’s not much motivation to stop crying, but he’s right. “My mom told me today cause there’s a 5k run that’s been set up this Thursday to raise money for – for you know.” Eleanor picks her head up to look around the squad, “You’ll guys go, right?”

 

“Of course.”

  
“Definitely.”

 

“I’ll get everyone to come, I swear.”

 

A chorus of different answers that all mean yes follow her question and the caption smiles for the first time since she’s been at the gym.

 

-

 

“I think we have a good chance of winning,” Louis smiles up at his boyfriend, crossing his arms over his chest.

 

Harry nods, surveying the runners preparing next to the two, “I’d say so. Have you ever run a 5k before?”

 

“No, but Tiffany told me it wasn’t that hard.” He bends down to touch his toes, one last time, before straightening. It’s Thursday, and the whole football team and cheer squad has drove an hour to a small town where Eleanor’s grandma lives to run the 5k. All the runners contribute twenty dollars to run, and all the proceeds go straight to the Calder family in order for them to pay for radiation treatment. There are not as many other runners, probably due to the weather, but not a single player or cheerleader didn’t attend.

 

Niall casually walks over to the two, bringing up a party tomorrow at his house. Louis gets the main details, but is too focused in on Niall’s neck. “Hey Ni, what’s that mark on your neck?” he smirks.

 

“I could ask you the same.” The blonde counters, smirking at Louis, who quickly covers the huge hickey Harry gave him yesterday.

 

“Yeah, well this is from my _boyfriend_.”

 

Niall avoids eye contact for obvious reasons, “It’s a bug bite.”

 

“That must have been one huge bug,” Louis feels Harry’s arm snake around his hips, resting in one of his jogger pockets, “About the size of a human, I reckon.”

 

The blonde rolls his eyes, “Yeah, yeah – hey Zayn!” Niall jogs over to the boy who wasn’t even looking for him. Louis bites the inside of his smile, turning into Harry’s arms. “Who do you think it was?”

 

“Honestly,” Harry shrugs, “I have no idea. He hasn’t really had his eye on anyone for a while so it could be anyone.”

 

“That slut,” Louis whispers, but giggles because he was kidding. Harry looks towards Niall, who flinches to look away when Harry catches him staring.

 

-

 

And yeah, okay, the whistle blows and Louis totally thinks he can do this. It’s only a 5k run, he’s fine, and he has Harry. But no, it’s not all rainbows and butterflies.

 

He and Harry start off really good, like, they’re some of the first runners. Louis focuses on breathing and remembers Harry is right next to him. No big deal.

 

Then they get to the first turn, and Louis’ throat starts to demand water. He knows he’s running a bit more than his body can handle, but hey, Harry looks like he’s fine. He’s trudging along with no gasps for air or itching for water.

 

But see, Louis’s lungs are starting to feel like they’re constricting in his chest. He doesn’t want to tell Harry, come on, it’s only been five minutes. He can do this. Deep breathes.

 

Okay, no, this isn’t working. He’s running to fast, too hard, too much of _everything_. You don’t understand how much Louis doesn’t want to tell Harry he needs to slow down. No, he needs to keep going. A few more laps around the park, that’s it, come on.

 

Why are they running so fast in the first place? Oh, that’s right, it’s a race. But it’s not like the winner gets a fantastic prize. Louis could fake a cramp. Or maybe a muscle tear – that would make Harry pity him inside of rolling his eyes at his obvious attempt to slow down. No, he has to keep going. Harry will judge him if he doesn’t.

 

Run the race, they said.

 

It’ll be easy, they said.

 

_Where’s the damn 1k mark?_ How are they not even there yet?

 

“Babe you look like you’re freaking out,” Harry doesn’t even sound winded. The fuck.

 

“No!” Louis takes a big gulp of breath, “I’m fine. Let’s just keep going.” The pass the 1k mark, finally, but there’s still 4 to go. Louis thinks he might die.

 

Is he really _this_ out of shape?

 

Sure, he’s no model, but he’s not fat. Why is this race so difficult? Well, he’s hasn’t really done anything that involves running for an extended period of time in a while – or ever. His body just doesn’t have the endurance.

 

He focuses on his feet instead of the body next to him, watching as both shoes drum against the pavement in sync. The burning itching up his leg is becoming more prominent, mainly because he’s focusing on his feet, which are connected to his legs – fuck. He needs to refocus on something else. Or at least try to relax. Having a mental freak out won’t help him run.

 

The trees; they’re something. Leaves brush along with the wind around his head, with most of the leaves are yellow, red, or orange and it’s all very pretty. Nature has always had its way of distracting him.

 

“Hold on I need a break,” and completely out of the blue Louis hears the heaven sing for the first time. But coming out of his daze, it’s not heaven; actually it’s Harry stopping at a bench. Louis’ legs feel like jelly when he stops, but in a good way. He plops down on the bench next to Harry, trying to catch his breath but in a subtle manner. 

  
A few runners pass by – Eleanor, Antonio, Lucy, and some freshmen – but Louis doesn’t even care at this point if he wins. He just wants so fucking _water_ thank you very much. _Didn’t the instructor say there’d be refreshment stands?_

 

“How you holding up?” Harry sits up straighter, “Ready to keep going?”

 

Louis smiles breathless – literally – and says, “I’m good, yeah, just thought it would be shorter.” And he internally cringes at how dry his throat sounds. By the look on Harry’s face, he can tell he notices.

 

“You sure you’re okay?”

 

“I’m fine,” Louis snaps, but with a shaky smile still plastered on his face, “Let’s just keep going.”

 

“Baby,” Harry does a mixture between a sigh and a laugh, “I can tell you’re winded.”

 

“I am not!” Louis pouts, getting up off the bench although his limbs scream in pain, “I just needed that small break, that’s all.”

  
“Alright lets go then,” Harry smirks, waving a hand towards the other runners who just past.

 

Louis bites the inside of his cheek. “Lets.”

 

For the next 2 kilometers, Louis and Harry try to sprint to get ahead. They bump into Niall, Zayn, and Tiffany, mumbling a sarcastic apology then continuing on. AndLouis _really_ tries not to show how much he’s in pain – from the burning in his thighs to the ache he feels all over his body.

 

Half way past the 3 kilometers is when Louis gives up. Gasping for breath – of course trying to make it more dramatic – Louis begs Harry to sit down. He attempts to sound like he’s agony, but it comes out more of a high-pitched whine that a five year old would use to get a new toy. Harry, being the perfect boyfriend, instantly forgets about the race and tries to help Louis calm his breathing. His green eyes are widen with so much concern Louis wants to hug him.

 

“Come on baby, it’s only a little more than a one kilo,” Harry’s hand is big and warm, rubbing circles Louis’ lower back.

 

“No,” Louis shakes his head, whining from the mere thought of his body doing anymore running. “I can’t, I feel like fucking spaghetti.”

 

Harry pauses to think, “I could carry you on my back to the finish line? We’re not gonna win anyway so it doesn’t matter.”

 

“You’d do that?” He picks up his head, smiling at Harry, but he frowns a second later, “wait, no, I’m too heavy.”

 

“You’re not!” Harry protests, which earns a scoff from the smaller boy. He gets up off the bench, bending his knees so his back faces Louis. But from this angle, his arse is right in Louis’ face, and Louis smacks it lightly with a giggle. “Get on my back, come on,” he urges.

 

Louis shakes his head with a smile. “Babe, I’m too – _Harry_!” Harry scoots back further, but instead of shoving his arse into Louis’ face, he scoops his thighs with his hands and places the boy on his back. “Harry oh my god, you’re crazy!” Louis laughs loudly, locking his arms around Harry’s neck. He doesn’t fight to be put down, knowing Harry could be very stubborn.

 

“Better?” Harry asks.

 

“I guess so,” Louis whispers in his ear, and then he nuzzles his nose into Harry’s neck where his curls are. They smell like vanilla and honey – one of Louis’ favorite shampoos Harry owns.

 

Taking a breath, Harry starts running as fast as he can with the cheerleader on his back.

 

Louis can’t stop laughing as they charge forward, and he almost falls off Harry’s back a few times - but he absolutely loves it. 


	22. chapter xx

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Party at a rich dude's house

Louis comes up to Harry, eyes trained somewhere down the hallway, and tugs loosely on his elbow. "Give me your jacket," he finally looks up at him, still squeezing the fabric surrounding his bicep.

 

"I’m cold though,” Harry pouts adorably.

 

"I’m cold _er_ " he juts out his bottom lip as well, leaning his head back and pressing his chest to Harry’s arm.

 

The taller boy looks down at him with an adoring smile, "fine" he drags out, kissing Louis' pouted out lip.

 

When Harry pulls away, Louis softly mumbles "yay thank you" and spins around to let Harry slip the jacket on his arms. Once he’s nicely nested into the huge material, he holds out his hand for Harry to take. Their fingers easily slide together, and Louis pulls the boy along to his next class.

 

"You know,” Harry bites the inside of his cheek to stop smiling like a complete goof, “Tiffany told me a certain thing about you."

 

For a spilt second, Louis internally panics at the idea of Tiffany telling Harry one of the secrets he’s entrusted with her. "And what is that _certain_ thing you speak of?" They pass Zayn, and Louis smiles towards him but gets ignored. Bitch.

 

"That your stomach is your tickle spot,” and although Louis let’s out a breath he didn’t know he was holding, his eyes comically widen in a way Harry can tell he knows what’s going to happen.

 

"That bitch,” Louis whispers.

 

Harry smirks knowingly, "so it’s true."

 

"No."

 

"Yes."

 

" _Noo_ ,” Louis bats Harry’s hand that tries to slip under his jacket. But his hands don’t leave his middle, instead brushing along his hipbone. By now, the two have stopped walking and are somewhat blocking the hallway traffic. But no one says anything, of course, because Harry and Louis are the unannounced royalty of Cheshire High School now.

 

"I think you’re lying," Harry crowds him against a locker and tickles his stomach under his jacket. Everyone turns and stares when Louis starts laughing hysterically.

 

"Harry!" he tries to push him away, "No! I hate you!" he repeatedly hits Harry’s arms, softly though, trying to get him to stop. His smile crinkles his eyes, and he looks everywhere else but his boyfriend to look for someone to help him.

 

Harry laughs with him, increasing the speed of his fingers and making Louis squirm with giggles. The smaller boy looks so cute when he's being tickled, honestly, and Harry can’t believe this is actually his life at moments like these. His boyfriend is beautiful, and he's not afraid to show off their relationship to anyone who is willing to watch. From his bright blue eyes that sparkle when he laughs to his plush but small stomach that’s soft to the touch and now - he knows it's his tickle spot.

 

Eventually Harry stops when Zaynpasses and shoulder bumps him. Louis stays pressed against the random locker, letting his body shake and letting the last bit of giggles subside.

 

"Excuse me?" a petite girl with tamed blonde curls politely speaks, her eyes locked on the floor. "Thats my locker, uh."

 

"Oh!" Louis shakes himself as if getting himself together, immediately raising off the locker and going over to Harry. "Sorry, love!" he calls behind his shoulder as he takes Harry's hand in his once more. That girl is obviously a freshman who’s afraid of seniors, or intimidated. It’s cute in Louis' eyes, because how could he and Harry intimidate someone? They’re not scary, he'd say.

 

Louis balances his notebook in his left arm and keeps his right hand connected with Harry as they walk down the busy hallway, smiling and talking.

                                               

-

 

“Where did you say we were going again?”

With one last zip of his jeans, Harry steps in front of his bathroom mirror to inspect himself. Louis joins to stand next to him, bending forward to smooth over his nose and play with his hair. Harry gets a view of his arse, and he gives it a little smack to make Louis jump.

 

“A party,” Louis answers airily, not giving Harry any more details before turning back to the mirror. He’s dressed in a white shirt with bright red skinny jeans – his tightest pair to tease Harry a bit. Harry has a white v-neck with a flannel thrown over it and black jeans – his signature – but instead of his normal white Converse, he’s wearing his very first pair of black Vans. The couple went to the mall last week, and after much insisting and kisses, Louis finally convinced Harry to step out of his Converses and try a new style of shoe.

 

“Whose party?” Harry pours a small cup of mouthwash and tips it back to swisharound his mouth.

 

Louis turns to Harry, eyeing him up and down. He smiles with approval, kissing the boy’s puffed cheek, “My friend’s.”

 

Tipping his head back to gargle the wash, Harry spits it out in the sink and dries his mouth with a small towel. “Which friend?” he insists, standing up straight once more.

 

His phone goes off on the bed, and Louis ignores Harry to walk over to retrieve it. It’s Danny and Kyle, both asking for an address for tonight. He swipes his thumb across the screen, types his lock code, and blindly walks back to the bathroom. Harry tries to look at his screen, but Louis smirks and ducks away. “We should get going, I promised I would be there early to help set up.”

 

“To help _who_ set up?” Harry whines.

 

He sends Danny and Kyle the address, locks his phone and swings his arms around Harry’s neck. “Babe it’s one of my friends that you just need to get along with, okay?” he smashes their lips together hungrily, but pulls away as soon as Harry gets his tongue in his mouth.  
  
Louis squeezes Harry’s bicep appreciatively "Are you getting bigger? You've gotten more muscle."  
  
"You think?" Harry wonders, drumming his fingers along Louis' hips. He'll never get used to how small and curved his hips are compared to himself. _Like a girl,_ Harry thinks.

  
"Definitely," he rests his head in between Harry's neck, "I like it."  
  
Only Harry knows the true secret behind him getting more muscle, but Louis doesn’t need to know that.

 

“Okay,” Louis looks at the clock above the sink, “we need to go.”

 

Harry, having decided that there’s not point of trying to ask Louis who it is needs help setting up again, licks his lips swiftly, “Which car are we taking?”

 

Biting his lip, Louis whispers “We don’t need one,” and quickly pulls away to walk out of the bathroom.

 

“Are we getting picked up?” Harry follows him out, but takes a detour to the dresser to grab his phone and wallet. It’s a little passed 8, so Gemma and Oliver should be in their floors by now. His mom is out in the cabin, giving the couple a perfect chance to sneak out without her catching them. Mainly, Harry doesn’t want her to see Louis. Louis hasn’t met Harry’s family yet, and he wants to wait until Harry’s dad gets back from a business trip until the big introduction. They’ve talked about the plan before, and the first step is to make sure Anne and Rob like Louis first before telling them they’re dating.

 

“Nope.” Louis slides his phone in his tight back pocket, making his arse cheek have an iPhone shaped bump form. “We’re walking. His house is close by.”

 

“I probably know him, then,” with a smile, he tails Louis to the elevator, watching his boy’s delicious arse bounce as he walks ahead.

 

Louis pushes the base floor button, muttering “maybe” before the elevator door shuts.

 

-

 

“Louis.”

 

“Harry, come on.”

 

“You can’t be serious.”

 

“Come _on_.” Louis tugs on Harry’s hand, but the boy won’t budge. He uses all his strength, but of course Harry effortlessly holds his ground.

 

“Why didn’t you tell me we were going to Liam’s party?” Harry snaps his hand away, making Louis tumble into his chest. The smaller boy puffs out a breath against his shirt. “Is this why you wouldn’t say anything at my house? Because you knew I hated him?”

 

He moves around to the back of Harry, laying both hands flat against his shoulders and pushing forward, “I don’t know why you hate him and since you won’t _tell me_ ,” Louis gives up on pushing with a frustrated sigh, “this was my only other option.”

 

Harry turns to face him, “To lie to me?”

 

“I never lied to you babe,” Louis pouts, wrapping his arms around Harry’s waist to try and coax him into changing his mind. Harry won’t look down at him though; instead he keeps his gaze concentrated on the sidewalk. Louis squeezes him tighter, “Would you rather have me lied about coming here without you? I wanted to make sure you knew –“

 

“That what? That Liam wouldn’t make a move on you? That _anyone_ wouldn’t make a move on you?” Harry finally looks down at him, and Louis sees the worry in his eyes.

 

“Liam doesn’t like me like that, okay?” Louis whispers, threading his fingers through Harry’s hair to sooth him. “I don’t know what happened between you two but could you please just put that aside for me? He doesn’t hate you,” he points out.

 

There’s a sound of a door opening, then some footsteps on concrete. Louis and Harry turn their heads from where they’re still in an embrace to see a figure come out of the shadows. Liam jumps when he sees the two. “Oh! It’s you, Lou,” his eyes go wide when he realizes Harry’s glaring at him, “uh – I mean, Louis, hey. I didn’t know you were –“

 

“Bringing me?” Harry rudely finishes his sentence. Louis pulls his arms away from his waist.

 

Liam straightens up, but he’s already standing up straight so it just looks like he’s flexing. “Well, yeah, uh Louis could we just,” he motions over to the lawn, and Louis knows he means could they talk in private.

 

“Sure Li,” he smiles. He pulls Harry down by his neck, whispering, “Go wait inside babe” then leaving a kiss on his cheek. Harry reluctantly goes, but on his way he gives Liam a look that screams ‘try something and you’re dead’.

 

Liam patiently waits until he hears the front door close, then he throws his hands up and looks at Louis with bewilderment, “What the fuck! You told me you weren’t bringing him!”

 

“He’s my boyfriend Liam,” Louis explains quickly, stepping closer to keep his voice down, “if he found out through someone else I was here I would’ve been in some deep shit, okay? People start rumors, Li, and I _don’t_ need rumors going around that I’m cheating on Harry with anyone.”

 

He shakes his head staring at the cheerleader, “You couldn’t have just told him that? He’s gonna ruin everything –“

 

“No he’s not,” Louis calmly defends, “I promise he won’t. If he starts anything then I’ll make sure he leaves – with or without me.”

 

Liam bites his lip in thought. After a bit of a pause, he whispers, “If Harry trusted you then you wouldn’t have to deal with him not believing that shit, you know.”

 

“He does trust me,” Louis spits, “he just doesn’t trust other guys.”

 

Liam’s lips press into a straight line.

 

-

 

“Move it to the right,” Louis tilts his head, watching as Harry and Liam use their strength to move a filled bookcase to the corner of the room. “No wait should we just move it out of the living room?”

 

Harry pulls off of it with a big breath, “It’s fine where it is,” and his voice sounds so raspy after moving furniture. Louis offered to help but Liam insisted that everything was too heavy and, let’s face it, Louis has no upper arm strength what so ever. “At least I’m flexible,” Louis had said as a response, and Liam blushed madly in return.

 

It’s around nine, meaning people should be showing up soon. Louis has spent all week inviting everyone he’s ever known – through Facebook, Instagram, and just the contacts on his phone he was able to get about300. That 300 are allowed plus two, so Louis suspects a great amount of kids will be showing up, which will make this party fucking fantastic. Liam will have so many people to talk to, get to know, and possibly make friends with. It sounds horribly cliché but Louis just wants Liam to be happy, and this party is a one-way ticket to making tons of friends if he plays his cards right and talks to the right people.

 

And as soon as he starting thinking about who would show up first, there’s a knock at the door. Louis maybe kind of squeals, jumping off the breakfast barstool he was sitting on and running over to the door. Liam straightens up, nervous out of his mind. This is his first party without his parents supervising – is that sad or what?

 

“Cunt!” Louis screams as he lets the door slam open, and before he can comprehend what’s happening, Louis’s being picked off the floor in a hug.

 

Kyle spins him around jokingly, “Oh darling how I’ve missed you!” He laughs with his words, and eventually sets Louis back down.

 

Next through the door is Daniel, who’s dressed pretty hot if Louis must say. “Hey Lou!” he hugs the boy as well, but with slight less enthusiasm, “this house is banging.”

 

“Yeah, shit, I was like _holy fuck_ when we were riding up the driveway,” Kyle continues on into the living room, spotting a boy with short hair and a casual black t-shirt standingnear bookcase. From first glance, Kyle can tell by his tense shoulders he’s nervous about something. But he focuses on the hug piece of furniture next to him, “Now I hate to break it to who ever owns this house, by that fucker might be torn to shit by the end of the night,” he points to the bookcase. Louis and Daniel join him in the living room.

 

“Uh well that wouldn’t be good,” Liam mumbles, casting a glance at the case. “I’m lucky if anything survives, really.”

 

Kyle laughs a bit, then looks around at the empty house, “We’re the first ones? Fuck yes! But dude,” he looks back at Louis, “I’m music-less right now. I can’t pump up if I have no shit to _pump up to_.”

 

The smallest boy looks to Liam, “My dear friend Kyle would like to know where the music is.”

 

“I’m right here you fucker.“

 

“I found some shot glasses we could line up for –” Harry comes into the living room, blinking for a moment at the new faces, “Oh, hey.”

 

Daniel and Kyle nod at him for a greeting.

 

-

 

The night goes in a blur, what with Louis constantly greeting new people and catching up with old friends. A lot of them comment on how hot he got since the last time they saw him, others just quickly say ‘hey’ before continuing inside. Time flies in a haze of weed and shots and before Louis knows it, Daniel has to guide him up the stairs with an arm around his waist. Sometime around midnight he lost Harry in the throng of students, but he was too focused on the conversation he was having with his friend Duke that he didn’t even notice until an hour later.

 

He needs to find the bathroom but his mind is scrambling all over the place and by the time they reach an empty room, Louis pulls the old friend into it and shuts the door. He greets the somewhat silence with a pleased sigh, walking five steps before dumping himself on the bed. The room is a shade of red that probably has a fancy name, with a bed comforter to match.

 

“So how's your life been pumpkin?” Louis casually spreads his legs to get more comfortable. Something is digging into his arse cheek but he has no energy to actually lift himself to check what is might be.

 

Daniel plops down on a loveseat at the end of the bed, mindlessly picking at the lint on his jeans, “Pretty good, nothing really happens though.”

 

“Same, same. I'm on your boat.”

 

“But, you look like you're having the time your life here.”

 

“Yeah,” Louis sighs up at the ceiling,“it's pretty fun considering but otherwise it’s just a lot of drama, you know.”

 

“Like what?”

 

“Well the other day my friend Tiffany was caught in the bathroom by teacher with her boyfriend or whatever. His name’s Tony, I think they're dating but they’re on and off and it's just annoying.”

 

“That happened with the girl in my grade but she was caught getting fingered in the middle of the dance so she was suspended for like a week.”

 

Louis lifts his head up with a baffled smile, “Are you fucking serious?”

 

Daniel nods, laughing into his elbow, “That girl’s a fucking whore, but hey that's not necessarily a bad thingeh?”

 

“Totally,” he laughs, “So you get with any of ‘em?”

 

“No, I'm trying to stay single for my senior year so I could just focus on school you know, with college right around the corner. Don’t need some crazy bitch ruining anything.”

 

“Yeah I understand but I can't do that though. You have so much more self-control than me.”

 

Daniel squints at the smaller boy, “What, you dating someone?”

 

“Oh wow, you need to catch up on a lot.” Louis sits up, having found out he cannot get comfortable with what is poking his arse. He digs under himself, his hands finding a random phone.

 

“Who is she then?”

 

Louis flips the phone over a few times, trying to figure out who’s it might be, “That's also another thing. Listen, we’re friends right? Like you consider me –“

 

“Of course Lou we’re best friends.” Daniel interrupts before Louis could start rambling. Louis tends to do that – ramble with nerves if he’s doubtful or insecure about something.

 

“Okay well,” and his hands feel clammy, but what’s the worst Daniel could do? Yell at him and run out of the house saying he never wants to see his gay arse again? Okay, that’s actually kind of bad, but he takes a deep breath, “I’m not… straight.”

 

“What does that – oh,” the boy’s eyebrows knit together, and he drops his gaze towards the floor.

 

This sparks fear into Louis. “Yeah…”

 

There’s a beat of silence that Louis is ready to burst in tears, because out of all his friends that don’t know he’s gay already, he would think Daniel would be the most understanding –

 

“Listen, that's completely fine.”

 

Louis tries not to let out a huge sigh of relief, instead says, “Seriously? Cause I was really worried that you and Kyle wouldn't –“

 

“No,dude, you're my best friend I love you. Why didn't you tell us sooner?”

 

“I don't know, I just was worried because last time I went to London Kyle was all like _oh are you fucking any pussy_ and I was – I didn't want to weird him out.”

 

“Don't worry about Kyle if he does say something then fuck him… but seriously it's okay.” And he smiles that warm smile that Louis fucking loves to this day. It always made his days brighter back in London when he would have a particular bad day or just when he felt depressed. He nods at Daniel with thanks. “So you're dating someone? Who?”

 

Louis blushes, kicking his feet back and forth from where he’s perched on the edge of the bed. He’s too short to touch the carpet. “You know that guy with the curly hair that you saw when he first walked in?”

 

It take a second for Daniel to remember, but when it does his face breaks out with a massive grin, “You're dating dimples! Oh my god,” he coos, swinging his arm over Louis’ shoulders to put him in a brotherly headlock.

 

“Hey!” Louis laughs as he struggles to get Daniel’s arm off, “I’m the only one who can call him dimples Mr.”

 

“Oh sorry my bad,” he releases the smaller boy’s head, but keeps a hand resting on his opposite shoulder,“but you guys are cute together, honest.”

 

Louis blushes, “A lot of people tell me that.”

 

“How long have you guys been going out?”

 

“Practically since the beginning of October but we didn’t make it official ‘til a few weeks ago.”

 

“So he's a football player and you’re his cheerleader!” Daniel screams when it all clicks, “That’s adorable!”

 

The pink blush on Louis’ cheeks becomes even more prominent, “Yeah that's why we started talking, actually. He arranged for me to be his cheerleader before he knew me becauseI guess he wanted to _get_ to know me.”

 

“I might have to go hug him and he's not going to understand why because that’s so cheesy but adorable.”

 

“He’ll probably just laugh and push you off him because, you know,he’s taken.” Louis gives him a playful pointed stare.

 

“Hey I'm not going to do anything, you know I'm straight.”

 

“And that’s why I’m not worried,but if you see anyone flirting with him or if he's flirting with anyone you better tell me.”

 

“You have my solid word that I will tell you of any suspicious activity.”

 

Louis drops his voice to a serious tone, “Thank you detective.”

 

“No problem chief.”

 

They hold a serious stare for no more than three seconds before Louis bursts out laughing. He leans his head on Daniel’s shoulder, remembering the good old days when he hung out with him and Kyle everyday. He was a bit more immature – okay, yes, he’s still immature now – but all of them have changed in one way or another. Daniel grew a foot taller, Kyle broke out of his shell (he used to be the quiet one believe it or not), and Louis came out. Louis wonders what he would be like, if he stayed in London.

 

Daniel breaks the silence, after realizing they haven’t spoken a word for a few minutes. “So the guy who owns this house,his name’s Liam right?”

 

“Yeah, he's a bit of a shy guy but once you give him a chance he's really fun to talk to.”

 

“I can kind of tell he was nervous but, you know. His house is sick though, make sure you tell him I said that.”

 

“I’ll make sure to spread the word,” Louis chuckles, looking up at Daniel’s face. His hair has gotten a big longer, so it sweeps across his forehead similar to Louis’ own hair. His face is more defined, with his jawline cut perfectly and a pretty shade of blue eyes. “You’ve gotten more attractive since freshman year.”

 

“Oh my god,” Daniel laughs, but not awkwardly like Louis was expecting,“you looking at me that way hm? Maybe I should go tell Harry.”

 

Louis lays a hand on the boy’s chest, “Daniel, no, don't tell him about our secret love affair,” he begs in a sarcastic drama movie voice.

                                                                                

This only makes Daniel laugh even harder, “I'll make sure to explain every single detail,” he winks.

 

Louis bites his lips, still playing the part, “Like how you love bending me over the couch and having your _dirty_ with me,” his voice is low, trying to sound seducing.

 

“Oh my god!” Daniel sits up off the bed and let’s the now cackling Louis fall on to the bed. “This is going to far, I need a divorce.”

 

Louis laughs,“Love you too mate, I wish you could move to Cheshire.”

 

“I like London though.”

 

“London doesn't like you he wants you to move to Cheshire.”

 

“How do you know London is a he what if it’s a she?”

 

Louis huffs adorably, “You're annoying,”

 

“I'm just making a point sweet cheeks.” Daniel winks down at Louis’ arse.

 

“Only feminists would make that point.”

 

“A guy could be a feminist.”

 

“That sentence doesn’t even make sense.”

 

“Excuse me, coming from guy who’s dating another guy.”

 

Louis scoffs playfully, “Excuse _you_ how do you know _I’m_ the feminine one of my relationship?”

 

Daniel just stares at him.

 

He laughs at the boy’s face,“Fine, okay, Harry can't really be that much of a girl.”

 

Just then, Kyle comes booming up the stairs into the bedroom. He’s obviously too drunk for his own good just by the way he’s walking, but Kyle has always been one that can handle his liquor… most of the time.

 

“What's up fuckers?” he bellows, shaking his hips in a way that makes Louis want to cringe because he has absolutely no rhyme.

 

“Can you not curse in one sentence in your life?”

 

At the top of his lungs, Kyle pauses his dance and screams, “I was born this way bitch!”

 

“Lady Gaga and has no room in this conversation,” Daniel sits back on the bed, his legs brushing Louis’.  Louis chooses not to say anything, instead lifting his leg to hook onto Daniel’s thigh.

 

Kyle flips the bird towards Daniel, “whatever cunt.” He directs his attention back to Louis,“I just came here to tell you that Aiden is looking for you.”

 

Louis’ eyebrows shoot up, “ _Aiden_? What the fuck is he doing here?”

 

“Didn't you invite him?” Kyle walks over to the polished dresser against the wall, drumming his fingers on the wood like he’s waiting patiently for something. Or that there’s so much shit going through his mind he can’t think straight.

 

“He's probably Stephanie's plus one,” Daniel suggests, hoping to make Louis’ shoulders less tense.

 

“But I don't want to see him,” he looks at Kyle, “tell him that I died or something.”

 

“You're the one who invited everyone here why would you be dead?” Daniel reasons, and Louis groans.

 

All the memories of the summer of freshman year are slowly trying to make an appearance but Louis keeps pushing them away. Aiden is the fucker that took his “gay” virginity and then fucked him over by breaking his heart. He wonders if Aiden just came to have fun or to try and rekindle what he threw away all those years ago, and Louis shakes his head because that is so not happening. “Just, just tell him that I’m not here cause I jumped off the balcony into the pool didn't make it!”

 

“Whatever man, oh, and we're doing body shots out by the pool house. I'm not sure if Aiden’sgonna to be out there but if you want, we’re starting in about ten.”

 

“Thanks bitch,” Louis salutes him as he’s walking out.

 

“You have no room to call me a bitch,” Kyle points an accusing finger at him, then saunters down the hall back to the party.

 

Daniel turns to him with a slight grimace, “So you want to go down there?”

 

“I’m not letting that douche bag ruin this party,” Louis stands and Daniel joins him as he walks towards the door. “If I run to him or anyone that it may be awkward, could you just cover for me if I run away?”

 

“Yeah I'll tell them you had a little too much Indian food before the party.”

 

“That's gross but it might work.”

 

-

 

Harry comes staggering into the kitchen, leaning too close into Liam’s personal space. Liam can tell first hand that Harry is so drunk he doesn’t realize it’s him. “Have you seen Louis?”

 

“He’s out by the backhouse with Niall and them,” Liam waves to the back door, trying really hard not to punch Harry for being so close to him. He’s had a few drinks himself, and at these moments, he carries the most rage. That’s one of the reasons his life is the way he is.

 

Harry’s eyes seem to refocus on Liam, and he lies a gentle hand on the boy’s shoulder, “hey,” he mumbles, “how have you been?”

 

He’s got a dopey smile on his face, and it’s making Liam think back to the days where Harry actually gave a fuck about him. When they were actual friends, best friends, who did everything together since primary school. “Fine,” he murmurs, looking out into the archway of the living room for an excuse to leave.

 

“I miss you mate,” and Liam realizes Harry’s at a point of drunkenness that he forgets everything that’s ever happened between them. That’s not a good sign. Liam needs to get out of this situation.

 

“Oh this girl is waving me over,” he motions to the living room, and tries to bolt. But Harry grabs his bicep at the last second, pulling him in so his lips brush over Liam’s ear sloppily.

 

“Why are you trying to run away from me?” Harry whines.

 

“Go find Louis,” Liam urges, and with one last push, he’s out of Harry’s sight.

 

Harry’s mind is a big blur right now, full of what just happened with Liam and his boyfriend – oh, yeah. He’s still looking for him. Didn’t Liam say something about him being in the back?

 

So with that, he follows his instincts to the backyard, where so many people bump him his mind distorts together again. There are so many perfumes in his nose and loud noises in his ear, and he blinks to try to stop his eyes from glazing over. What is he looking for again?

 

“Louis,” he whispers, to himself of course, and looks around for his boyfriend. By the backhouse, he notices the bright red pants Louis was wearing when they left, and sure enough it’s him. Past his blurry vision, Harry can only focus in on Louis’ body as he stumbles over. _He’s so beautiful,_ Harry can’t help but think as he scans him over, from his toned thighs to his perfectly sculpted face. Louis has an arm thrown around his shoulder, and Harry squints his eyes to concentration on who it is. Niall. Fucking _Niall_ is drawing Louis, _his_ Louis, in by the neck to whisper in ear. His vision makes it looks like they’re kissing but Harry has enough common sense to know that’s not true. But why is Louis letting him touching him like that? Does he not see Harry coming over?

 

He’s brought back to earth by the sound of Louis letting out a loud laugh, even going as much as to tip his head back. Harry can kind of see how Niall laughs with him, and then he buries his face in Louis’ neck. Who the _fuck_ does he think he is?

 

“Baby!” Louis cries delightedly, breaking away from Niall to run to Harry. Harry blinks the haze out of his eyes, throwing a casual arm around his boyfriend – _his_ boyfriend, not Niall’s. He needs to stop overreacting like that all the time. “We’re doing body shots c’mon,” Louis pulls him towards the pool house. Harry may or may not catch Niall staring at Louis’ arse as they pass but he ignores it, again.

 

-

 

“Alright fuckers, change of plans, we’re playing truth or dare!” Kyle loudly announces from the couch he’s rested on. There’s a blonde girl sucking on his neck, and he vaguely remembers her from when Louis came to London. He can’t remember her name, though.

 

“I agree with that guy!” Eleanor yells, which earns a thumbs-up from Kyle. Tiffany detaches her lips from his neck, looking towards Eleanor. “I’ll go first! Lou,” she points to Louis, “Truth or dare?”

                                                                                             

Harry smiles down at Louis, who’s situated in between his legs. Louis hums appreciatively, “Hmm truth!” 

 

“How big is Harry’s dick?”

                                                                        

“ _Thank you_!” Tiffany shouts, laughing at Louis’ shocked expression. Eleanor smirks at the boy. Kyle looks like deer caught in headlights.

 

It’s like Harry isn’t even in the room.

 

Louis' mouth drops open with a smile, stunned, while everyone in the room looks at him expectantly. "Oh my god I’m not _telling_ you guys!"

 

"No! No, you picked truth now answer the damn question!"

 

"I’ve always wanted to know!"

 

"Me too! Lou how big is he?"

 

Despite Harry sitting right behind him, Louis knows he has to answer the truth. So he spreads his hands to eight inches apart and says, "about this big?"

 

"Fuck!" Tiffany laughs.

 

"Damnnn Lou,” Eleanor winks at Harry, taking a sip of her Corona. Louis would’ve never guessed just looking at herthe first time they met that’s she’s a beer drinker. He personally can only stand so much of it before he starts puking at the taste.

 

Louis laughs with everyone, reaching up to tangle his fingers with Harry’s right hand, which hangs limp over his shoulder. He directs a dare to his old friend Ariel, and the game flows smoothly.

 

But after a good thirty minutes, Eleanor has the chance to ask him another “truth or dare Lou?”

  
“I’m scared, but truth.”

  
“Have you ever sucked a black guy’s dick?”

  
“Why is it that every time I pick truth it’s something sexual?” He sighs exasperated.

  
She laughs at him, “You have to answer!”

  
“ _Well_ ,”he gives up on protesting and nods his head shyly, biting his lip,“yeah, yeah I have.”

“Was he huge?”

  
He shakes his head with a look that says ‘nahhhh’.

  
“C’mon,” she encourages, “Harry won’t be offended.”

  
Louis gives in once again, “Okay fine, sorry babe, but he was fucking _giant_.”

 

Everyone chuckles and turns away to continue. It’s getting late, around two or three Louis thinks, so everybody is slowly winding down. Some have already left with a ‘great party!’ or ‘call me if you’re throwing another one!’. Louis considers this party a success, considering Liam never crawled to him begging for everyone to leave. He actually hasn’t seen the boy all night, which is either great in the sense he found people or even a girl to shag or he’s crying up in his room. Louis prays for the first option.

 

“Was that guy better in bed than me?” Harry whispers about ten minutes later, startling Louis who was deep in thought.

 

Louis smirks, but his head is turned away so Harry doesn’t see it. He turns his head inward, not saying anything before pressing their lips together– no one is paying attention to them anyway. Harry kisses back eagerly, andLouis’ lips movehungrily against Harry’s as he shifts his body so they’re facing each other.

 

He pushes on Harry’s shoulders until Harry gets the hint and closes his eyes again, sliding lower on the floor to let Louis sit on his torso above his hips so their mouths are level. Then Louis lifts himself up so he can tilt Harry’s head back and really get his tongue deep into his mouth, keeping his hand on Harry’s neck to squeeze it a bit. He kisses like he’s starving.

 

Harry places a hand low on Louis’ back, so it spans the creased fabric of his shirt, a line of of his soft, tan skin peeking up from his trousers.

 

“Keep it G-rated guys,” and that voice - Louis remembers that voice like a cold slap to the face. He stops kissing Harry, which earns a small groan from the captain, and looks up at the smirking Aiden. He doesn’t look any different from all those years ago, still supporting that ridiculous quiff with those bizarre teeth and his body is still awkwardly disproportional. He looks much older now, probably out of college with a proper job, yet he’s still at a high school party. Dumb prick. “Nice to see you haven’t changed a bit, Lou.”

 

Louis scoffs, “Oh fuck off Aiden,” because he knows he’s referring to that time in his life that he threw himself at anyone who would bat an eyelash. “This is my boyfriend Harry, actually.”

 

“ _Boyfriend_ huh,” Aiden raises an eyebrow with sarcastic shock, “That’s cute, you know, how you think you could keep a guy interested more than a week.”

 

Harry’s the one that shoots up off the floor, letting Louis roll off before he could say a sassy response. He gets up in Aiden’s face, and everyone seems to quiet when he does. “I seriously suggest you stop talking to him like that,” he growls, fists clenching at his side.

 

Aiden waves a hand in front of his nose, making a disgusting face, “Fuck you need to brush your teeth.”

 

“And you need to fuck _off_ ,” Harry shoves him towards the door with his last word, the anger and ghd alcohol in his system mixing not so nicely. He doesn’t know who this Aiden guy is but he obviously had some type of old relation with Louis and he’s basically calling him a whore – which is far from okay.

                              

The older boy looks past Harry to Louis, who’s watching from the floor, “You gonna let your big ol’ boyfriend fight your battles for you?”

 

“And I’ll fucking win them,” Harry pushes him to the ground with both hands. The air whooshes out of Aiden’s lungs on impact. “Now fucking get out.”

 

“Alright fuck,” Aiden shoots Louis a look from the floor, “just a little FYI your _boyfriend_ has some anger issues.” And he doesn’t give Harry the chance to touch him again before he’s out of the pool house.

 

 

-

 

Later that night, when the coupleis sleeping in his king sized bed, Harry tosses and turns. All he can think about is that moment he saw Niall and Louis wrapped up in each other by the backhouse, all laughs and flirting – was it flirting? He couldn’t tell, but Louis is a flirt no matter who he talks to without realizing it. Harry knows he means no harm, but one day it could get him in trouble. And on top of that, all that shit with Aiden. He never asked Louis what happened between them, didn’t really have a chance to before Louis dragged him home after what happened.

 

He shuts his eyes, squeezing them together to try and finally get some sleep.

 

 _Louis and Niall are standing too close, and Harry knows Niall’s hands are slipped into the other boy’s back pockets – squeezing his arse.Louis takes Niall’s hand and leads him into pool house, looking around before shutting the door. Harry can’t tell if Louis noticed him or not, but he doesn’t let that stop him from continuing to walk towards the two. By the time Harry gets to the door, he hears loud noises inside. He thinks it music, but when he turns the knob, all he can do is gasp. Louis’s laid naked out on the couch, and Niall’s pounding into him with his body draped over the smaller boy. Aiden’s sitting in the corner with his hand down his pants, wanking to the two boys fucking. Harry wants to scream, kick, punch, but he’s frozen. He’s glued to the floor and his arms feel like ice, sealed to his side in an almost painful way. Louis moans Niall’s name, scraping his fingers through his blonde hair down to his neck. “Fuck Niall, fuck me harder make me cum_ baby _–“_

 

He shoots up out of bed screaming “no!” He takes a few deep breaths, blinking his eyes with realization. He turns in the dark to see Louis sleeping next to him, undisturbed by his yell. Harry sighs with relief, molding himself into Louis' backside.

 

The smaller cheerleader stirs when Harry's arms wrap around his waist, flipping over to cuddle into Harry's chest. His arms instinctively tighten around the boy, and Louis whimpers softly.

 

He struggles to open his mouth in his drowsy state and manages to quietly croak out "Harry."

 

"What? Yeah, what’s up?" Harry asks frantically.

 

“You're squeezing me too tight."

 

"Oh," Harry loosens his grip on his waist, "sorry."

 

"You okay?" Louis lifts his head to look into Harry’s eyes. His own blue ones are barely opened, but Harry can still see those beautiful irises.

 

"Just a bad dream, is all," he mumbles.

 

Louis yawns huge and cute, "Wanna talk about it?"

 

"No babe, thanks, but go back to sleep it’s too early."

                                                                              

"Mkay," Louis slurs sleepily, burying his face in Harry's shoulder, "I’m right here if you need me," and he falls dead to the world within a few seconds.

 

"Yeah..." Harry hugs his boyfriend, "yeah."


	23. chapter xxi

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Eleanor has some news.

Louis moans around the lid of his Starbucks cup.“Thanks again,” he sends Harry a look of gratitude, “I honestly don’t have a bloody clue how I even managed to get up this morning, my head hurts like shit.” He rubs his temples, and then looks around the store for a sign of Charlotte. She has this whole ‘absolutely no cursing while working’ but Louis couldn’t give a fuck when he’s hung over.  This morning he was crudely woken by his insanely obnoxious alarm, and he tried hitting snooze and cuddling back into Harry, only to remember he agreed to take the morning shift. On a _Saturday_ , for crying out loud, what the hell was he thinking? So he bolted out of bed, waking Harry in the process, and left with a quick kiss goodbye before rushing to stop home first. He made it to the mall just in time, but with no breakfast or even a drink squeezed in beforehand.

 

It’s his first break of the day, thanks to the lull in customers, and Harry conveniently came with a tea fixed just right. Louis was just about ready jump his bones at the sight, but Charlotte was present so he settled on a huge hug.

 

“No problem,” Harry tore his eyes off something on the far wall, smiling timidly at him. Louis’ smile slowly melts off his face, and he sets the tea down. Harry’s on the other side, being that’s policy that only workers can be behind the cash register, with Louis leaning his stomach against the counter right across from him – meaning, Louis has to reach a hand out to interlock their fingers.

 

Harry slides his thumb across Louis’ soft skin, staring at their hands thoughtfully. “Something on your mind?” the smaller boy bites his lower lip.

 

“Who was that guy at the party last night?”

 

At this, Louis freezes, mouth opening to say something but shutting immediately. Harry keeps eye contact almost painfully.

 

“Aiden?” Louis dumbly questions, even though Harry could be talking about another guy. But he already knew this conversation would happen, he just never figured out how to explain it.

 

“Yeah,” Harry mumbles,“Is he your old friend? … Boyfriend?” A young boy who looks around eleven and his mother come into the main room where Louis and Harry are, and the smaller boy snatches his hands away quickly. He greets them and watches them walk away to make sure they’re not listening.

 

“I told you I’ve never had a, official, boyfriend before,” Louis half whispers. He self-consciously tugs at his bright blue shirt, “he’s… it’s complicated. Well, not really, like, I basically lost my virginity with him so I just –“

 

“He has a place in your heart?” Harry suggests.

 

“Exactly!” Louis exclaims, but quickly lowers his voice. He takes a sip of his lukewarm tea, “And no, before you ask, I don’t still have feelings for him. He’s just my first in that sense. Still the highest extent of a douche bag though,” Harry chuckles at that, “and he kind of just threw me out after we fucked so that stung a bit.” He’s sugarcoating the actual story to a point where he might have a cavity, but he doesn’t want Harry to worry.

 

“I’m not sorry I almost got into a fight with him,” Harry laughs, and Louis feels warm inside knowing he’s not angry, “I can’t even remember what he said. But I guess it was bad ‘cause I never usually try to get violent.”

 

Louis gives him a pointed look. “ _Josh_?”

 

“Okay you know what,” the cheerleader can’t help but laugh at Harry’s expression, “I really liked you and I saw you snogging him against the wall, that made me angry, sorry.”

 

“You could have been kicked off the team idiot,” Louis takes a breath to let his giggles subside, “then who would I have to snog in the locker room after games?”

 

“ _Zayn_?”

 

“One time!” he starts laughing again and Harry joins him, “Me and him happened one time and you cannot get over it!”  


“Now, from what I recall you and him hooked up twice, remember?”

 

Charlotte steps out of the office, looking towards Harry and nodding a greeting. Then she turns to Louis and hands him a clipboard.

 

“Since you’re on break, fill out this survey for headquarters. They’re trying to gather up some info about the work conditions. Oh, and Dylan is coming in about ten minutes for the noon shift. You’re here ‘til three right?”

 

“Unfortunately,” Louis answers, flipping through the two pages of the survey. But he sends a sweet smile towards her, “I mean, I’m happily here ‘til three. Couldn’t dream of being anywhere else, darling.”

 

“Yeah, yeah,” she waves a hand at him as she retreats back down the hall. Louis puffs out a laugh when she’s out of earshot.

 

“So are you heading out soon? Trust me, I want you to stay, but Dylan’s a suck-up and will probably tell on me if I keep paying attention to you instead of working.”

 

Harry sniggers at that, but nods and ruffles in his pockets for his phone that just vibrated, “I’ll leave as soon as you tell me to, don’t have any where to be.” He squints his eyes at the screen.

 

To: Harry

 

From: Eleanor

 

movie night at my house tonight at seven, bring the whole footie and cheer team

 

“You don’t have anything planned tonight around seven, do you?” Harry picks his head up to look at his boyfriend.

 

Louis blushes slightly, “No, why?”

                                                                                          

“Eleanor wants everyone at her house around seven for a movie night. I think she doesn’t want the two teams to be apart for awhile, you know?”

 

And the thought of Harry inviting him out on a date is crushed. “Oh,” he tries not to let his disappoint show but he can’t control how his eyes dim, “yeah. Tell Eleanor I can make it.”

 

But Harry can see how he visibly deflates, “Do you not want to go? That’s fine, I could just tell her –“

 

“No I want to go.” Louis shakes his head with a fond smile, “You’re cute, but I just thought you were gonna ask me to go on a date is all. But a movie night sounds good too.”

 

Harry looks surprised, his eyebrows shooting up and head cocking backwards somewhat. “Oh,” he coos, taking Louis’ hands in his once more, “baby if you want we could go out to dinner every night, I just didn’t know if you wanted it to be an official date each time.”

 

He can’t stop how his stomach flurries at the pet name. “Not _everything_ has to official but a, like, formaldinner and movie every now and then would be cool.”

 

“Anything for my sweetheart,” Harry squeezes their fingers together and brings Louis’ hand up to brush his lips on his knuckles – a sweet kiss ghosting his skin. It’s this side of Harry - this adorable, chivalric, and just generally amazing side – that makes Louis want to snuggle into his chest and kiss him all day. Football always brings out the less soft, more serious personality, which of course, Louis is also attracted to, but he loves his Hazzabear. “And hey, your birthday is in twenty three days, I’ll plan something really special then.”

 

Louis beams at the thought, “My birthday! Ew, I hate the thought of turning 18 but I’m just really excited for university. I already have two I’m definitely applying to –”

 

“No,” Harry pouts, which makes Louis stop his enthusiastic speech.

 

“No why?”

 

“’Cause university means we won’t be together all day.”

                                                                                                    

And he really doesn’t want to talk about that, because he knows it’ll turn into a long conversation about how wherever he goes Harry goes, so he leans across the counter for a sweet kiss instead. Of course at that very moment, Dylan comes through the front entrance saying, “I don’t remember kissing attractive boys being part of a cashier job, Louis.”

 

Although he heavily considers just flipping the bird towards Dylan and continuing, Harry is the one to pull away with a small smirk. “Hey loser,” Louis smiles at him, but scrunches his nose with distaste.

                                                                                      

Dylan even has the nerve to smile at Harry flirtatiously, but Harry just looks down at his shoes without so much as a nod in response. Louis’s taught him well. “So, uh, would you want to hang out at mine before going over to Eleanor’s or –“

 

“I wish I could babe,” Louis makes sure to loudly pronounce every word, just so Dylan can hear the pet name, “but Jay isn’t home ‘til six so I have to watch the twins. And she specifically said no one can come over.”

 

Harry laughs at his frown, leans in again to kiss his pout, but Louis catches his bottom lip and brings a hand up to cup his jaw. Dylan is the worst, honestly, because he pops up from behind the counter to ruin the moment again.

 

“So,” Harry scratches the back of his wrist, “Did you tell Jay about us yet?”  


“Well yeah,” Louis reassures his nerves, “She said she wants to have dinner with us, her, and my dad apparently.”  


It’s Harry’s turn to look surprised, “The dad you never see anymore? Why?”

 

“No idea,” he shrugs, “I’ll ask her about more details later and text you. But you’re up for a dinner, yeah?”

                                                             

“Totally. Before I go could I have a sip of this?” Harry picks up Louis’ abandon tea. There’s only half a quarter left, so Louis waves him off with a ‘drink the rest’.

 

“Don’t you guys feel weird sharing?” Dylan glances repulsed at where Harry drinks from the same lid Louis had his mouth on previously. 

                                                                                                       
Louis looks over at Dylan with apleased look, “Well his tongue has been in my arse so… “ Harry almost spits out his drink, but manages to compose himself, instead hits Louis on the shoulder. He starts coughing hysterically, while Louis bursts out laughing. “It’s true!”

 

“ _Alright_ ,” Dylan drags out with wide eyes, and Louis absolutely loves the blush spread on Harry’s cheeks, “goodbye Harry dear, Louis needs to continue working.” The boy waves him goodbye, even though Harry doesn’t want to leave.

 

“Alright,” he lets the coughing subside, “See you at hers?”

 

“Yeah,” Louis giggles at Harry’s disappointed expression, “Yeah, I’ll text you.”

 

-

                                                  

Louis is the first of the cheerleaders, besides Eleanor of course, to the movie night. About seven of the footie players are already laid out around Eleanor’s living room, and they all scream hello as he walks in. He laughs and is about to say hey back but he’s dragged out of the room before he could blink. Next thing he knows he’s shoved against a wall and there’s a pair of lips on his. Breathless and a bit dizzy, he still manages to recognize those lips anywhere, and kisses back with just as much fervor.

 

“You saw me less than eight hours ago,” Louis tangles his fingers through Harry’s curls, “and you attacked me like we haven’t been together in weeks.”

 

“Maybe because it feels that long,” Harry hums against the sensitive skin below Louis’ left ear, making the tinier boy shiver.

 

The doorbell rings in the background, but the two don’t separate from their place on the hallway wall. Distance greetings and chat fill the house.

 

“Do you think Eleanor called us all here to tell us something?” Louis wonders aloud. Pasta parties are the only gathering both teams organize, and that’s for the day before a game to rally everyone up. But outdoor games won’t resume until spring, and the cheerleaders don’t have another expo until December 17th.

 

“No idea,” Harry shrugs, pulling back from Louis and squeezing his dainty hips, “maybe it’s just to make sure everyone stays, like, friends? Winter season, usually everyone grows apart so in spring it’s sometimes awkward.”

 

Out of nowhere, literally how did the two boys not hear him flying down the hallway, Niall yells in their face to ‘get your fuckin’ arses over to the living room right now’. Harry whines loudly, but ultimately tugs Louis to where more people have arrived and are situated amongst the furniture. There’s only a love chair in the far right hand corner of the room that’s blocked by the couch that’s not occupied, so Louis and Harry are forced to get comfy there.

 

“Okay,” Tiffany claps her hands together like that first gym class where Louis met her, “guys, Eleanor has something she needs to say and it’s pretty big news, so.”

 

“Thanks girl,” Eleanor smiles at her, than to everyone, “there’s no easy way to say this, but I’m leaving Cheshire for a few months.”

  
“Hallelujah!” Niall sings, which causes everyone, including Eleanor, to start laughing.

 

“Thanks Ni, I’ll miss you too,” she fixes her hair, “anyway, if any of you care, my grandma had to be moved permanently to the hospital because the doctors say she’s only got a few months left.” The air in the room immediately grows tense with silence, “Don’t feel bad guys, my mom warned me this was bound to happen, so I’m better prepared than I would have been a few weeks ago. I’ll be living in my grandma’s house ‘til around April to help my mom through this and just because it’s easier than traveling an hour every time we want to go see her. So I just wanted everyone here to tell you that – and yes, I’ll still be participating in the expos and coming to practice – since I’m being online schooled for a bit I can’t be your caption. Principal said it was against the rules, I don’t know how that works, but I picked a new co-captain until I’m back from spring season.” She looks at the only male cheerleader in the room, “And Louis, I picked you.”

 

The boy looks at her with wide eyes, “What?” Louis exclaims, in complete shock.

 

“You’re obviously one of the most talented on our team, I feel like you deserve it.”

 

Louis can practically feel Caroline’s glare from across the room, but he couldn’t give a fuck. “Oh my god,” he runs into Eleanor’s arms, squeezing her tight “thank you! Of course I’ll miss you but I won’t let you down, I promise!” Louis beams at her as they pull apart. It’s only been a few months since he’s been in Cheshire and he’s already co-captain? Honestly, he never expected to be this accepted like family in this town in such short time. It makes his heart warm.

 

“Alright, enough with all that, I want some popcorn,” Zayn loudly announces, making both the teams agree.

 

-

 

Everyone ends up agreeing on This Is The End, which Louis tried to protest on because he already saw it and it was absolute shit, but he was over ruled.

 

When Seth Rogen and Jay Baruchel are smoking weed in his dingy apartment in the very beginning, Louis decides he’d rather talk to Harry this whole movie then have to bare through watching it again. Okay, yes, when he first saw this with some old friends from Wolverhampton, he agreed it was stupidly funny. The only part Louis liked was when Channing Tatum was crawling around like a dog, on a leash, in barely any clothing – that, that was worth waiting to watch until the end.

 

He shifts his body around so he’s no longer spooning Harry, instead pressing against his chest. Harry, he can tell, is actually trying to watch the movie but he wants to talk. “Hi,” he whispers, but he’s loud enough that Lily turns around and shushes him. He rolls his eyes without looking back at her.

 

“Hey,” Harry still responds, but in a whisper that Louis’ ears strain to hear.

 

“What’s up?” Louis tries to lower his voice as much as he can, resting a hand on Harry’s hip. His hand slides under the fabric of his shirt, then slides down so his fingers tuck underneath the top of Harry’s boxers.

 

“Baby I wanna watch the movie,” Harry tries to keep his eyes on the screen, but Louis can hear the shake in his voice as he brings both his hands to press against the button of his jeans.

 

Louis doesn’t answer, but presses a gentle kiss to Harry’s neck, trailing his hands up his stomach. Everyone laughs at something on the screen, but Louis’ mind is blurred with thoughts of _Harry_ and _dick_ and _I’m gonna give my boyfriend a handjob right in front of everyone and he can’t do anything about it_.

 

Harry’s belt comes undone easily, with just a simple pull, and then he’s unzipping his jeans. He doesn’t pull them down all the way, just to have easy access to slip a hand down his boxers. When his hand comes into contact with Harry’s cock, the captain let’s out a chocked breath. “Wait,” Harry mumbles, and Louis thinks he’s going to usher them to a guest room, but instead he reaches to the side of the couch to grab a spare blanket. He drapes it over their bodies.

 

“Good call,” Louis smiles, returning his hand to squeeze at the head. He tilts his head up to kiss him, breathily laughing into his mouth at how ridiculous this is. Any one of the team could turn around and see Louis’ hand moving under the blanket and call them out on it – but that element of suspense makes it so much more hotter.

 

His dick is a bit dry, so he brings his hand up as quietly as he can and licks a strip over it. Harry suppresses a groan when Louis starts licking his hand like how he would eat Louis out. Fuck, why does this have to happen right now in front of everyone?

 

“Your face is hilarious,” Louis whispers amused, but Harry can’t come up with a comeback before his hand disappears back down under the blanket. Then his little hand wraps around his dick, and it starts to slowly jerk him off.

 

“Louis,” Harry groans as quietly as possible, and thankfully no one turns around to look at them. Louis bites the boy’s lower lip, dragging it out while squeezing the base in sync. Harry is going to kill him for this, honestly. This is pure torture that he can’t just flip Louis on his back, make him spread his legs wide, and fuck him into oblivion. That’s what _would_ happen if they were alone, at least.

 

His hand picks up speed, just a tad, because he knows if he goes too fast everyone will hear. Harry’s dick feels so warm in his palm, with the foreskin dragged deliciously with his movements. He feels precum start to drizzle out of the head, and he swirls his point finger around in it teasingly. This proves to drive Harry even crazier, and he moves his head down to Louis’ shoulder and bites down – hard. Louis can’t help but whimper, but it’s a short and quiet sound. He’s really surprised someone hasn’t at least turned around by now.

 

There’s enough precum to lube Louis’ hand for easier movements, and he tightens his grip but still goes painfully slow. Well, not painful for him, but for his poor Harry who has to keep biting the expansion of his neck and collarbones to keep quiet. At least Louis will get some hickies out of this situation.

 

“C’mon, c’mon,” It’s barely there, but Louis hears Harry stammer his beg into his neck. By now he’s discreetly humping Louis’ legs, trying to get the drive to push him over the edge. Louis’ hand is going to slow for him to cum at this point.

 

Louis leans his mouth up to Harry’s ear, going a bit faster with his hand. He can faintly hear the fapping as he goes up but he figures he’s the only one who hears. The miniature couch they’re on _is_ pretty secluded from everyone. “Gonna cum in your pants, hm big boy?” He nibbles on Harry’s ear, making the boy shiver with a nod. “You’re so fucking dirty,” and Louis knows what he’s doing. He’s giving the Harry the last push he needs to cum. But he plans on saving his boyfriend some of his pride by trying to catch all the cum in his hand. Maybe he’ll lick it off right in front of him to make him hard again.

 

He’s so evil.

 

“Baby,” Harry’s voice has gone up, a warning sign. Louis moves his fingers like he’s thrumming them against a table, licks into Harry’s mouth, and sure enough Harry’s warm cum starting spurting on his hand. He cups his palm, catching a good amount of it, but definitely enough that there won’t be a stain. Harry’s body convulses with his orgasm, but he manages to stay quiet with Louis’ tongue down his throat.

 

After Harry’s gone soft, Louis pulls the now cum-dripping hand out from his boxers. Harry’s eyes widen when he sees it, and he’s eyes glint with something Louis can’t pick up as the cheerleader brings the hand to his mouth. His tongue comes out to coyly kitten lick the fingers, then he flattens it and licks a whole strip. He’s always loved the taste of Harry’s cum – it’s an amazing mixture of sweet and salty. If he could bottle it up and drink it like water, he’d be a very strange but happy individual.

 

“You’re so naughty,” Harry’s face is mesmerized as Louis licks off the last of him cum. Louis smiles bashfully and sticks out his tongue to let Harry see the white to pink disparity. “Fuck I love you,” and he dives in to lick his own cum out of Louis’ mouth.

 

They snog languidly for what it seems like a half hour before Louis sighs happily and rest his head against Harry’s shoulder. His eyes slip shut and he whispers, “Give a hand job in a room full of people… can check that off my bucket list.”

 

Harry laughs so loudly everyone turns around to tell him to shut up.

 

-

 

Later that night,Louis’s in Harry’s black boxers as he foldsthe other boy’s laundry. This is the second night in row Louis has slept over his house, and sadly he knows the twins and Jay miss him, but he promised Harry he would help him with his clothes. Harry would help, he would, but his bed is so comfortable and warm right now. And he doesn’t mind the view of Louis’ arse from there either.

 

Harry smiles at him from the bed, "Babe?"

 

Louis doesn’t look back at him, continuing to fold his shirts, but answers, "Yeah?"

 

"Come here,” he gently commands.

 

He tears his eyes off the shirt and looks back at Harry with a confused smile, "Okay?" He walks over and edge in front of the bed.

 

With quick movements, Harry grabs Louis' arse cheeks and pulls him down to straddle his waist.

 

"Baby-!" Louis squeals, but is swiftly pulled down for a kiss, startling him. But as Harry’s hands run over the fabric of his boxers, he hums into the kiss, inching his hand up Harry's naked chest and grabbing his hair.

 

After a few minutes of lazing snogging, Harry pulls back with a pleased sigh. Having the breath taken from his lungs, Louis just smiles at him. "You’re so beautiful," he kisses him again "I just can’t believe you’re mine," and again, “how did I get so lucky?"

 

And Harry can literally see the hearts in Louis' eyes, "Aw babe," he whispers, cupping his jaw with both hands and sealing their lips. It’s not heated or rushed, just their lips pressed together with the feeling of absolutely adoration radiating off both of their faces. Louis turns his head to the right, grazes his tongue along Harry’s bottom lip, and dives in as soon as his mouth opens. His toes curl on their own accord, or because Harry’s hands have moved to his arse and are softly kneading the skin.

 

“Haz,” Louis whispers against Harry’s lips, trying to pull away, but the boy chases his mouth for more.

 

But Harry doesn’t ignore him, and distractedly answers, “Hm?”

 

Louis reluctantly stops kissing him, but tilts his head away to give Harry full access to continue on his neck, “Why me?”

 

He nibbles at the expansion of Louis’ neck, “What?”

 

“Like,” Louis finally sits up and straddles Harry’s lap, effectively making the boy underneath him hone in on what he’s saying,“okay, so ever since the firstweek of school you’ve been like - obsessed with me. Why?”

 

“ _Well_ ,” Harry rests his hands on Louis’ arse once morebut not in a sexual way,“honestly?”

 

Louis nods, staring deep into the green of his eyes.

 

“This first thing that caught me were your eyes.”

 

“What about them?” Louis is just begging for compliments, and Harry chuckles because he knows this boy so well.

 

“They’re so beautiful; so big, so _blue_.” He lightly kisses his eyelids, and“then,” Harry trails a kiss to his cheek down to his jaw, “your lips. They were so kissable.”

 

“Kissable?” the smaller boy giggles, tilting his head upwards to let harry leave a row of kisses on his neck to his collarbone.”

 

“You were just so gorgeous, like, I think I actually froze from how breath taking you were.”

 

Louis’ eyes go wide and he blushes,“You’re joking,” he mutters.

 

“Never,” Harry blows a raspberry on Louis' neck to make him jump up. At his chance he catches his lips. They kiss lazily for a few moments before Louis pulls away again.

 

“What else?”

 

He shakes his head fondly,“I might have been a bit jealous.”

 

“Jealous?” Louis laughs and twists Harry’s curls,“Harry Styles, jealous? Never in a million years I thought that could happen.”

 

Harry squeezes Louis' bum,“yeah, okay I get it.”

 

“But what could you be jealous of when you didn’t even know me?”

 

“’Cause I _wanted_ to get to know you but Zayn beat me to it. Thought you guys were already a thing.”

 

Louis smiles admiringly – and maybe, just maybe he feels something in his heart but he doesn’t know what. Cheekily, he asks, “What about my arse?”

 

“I was trying to avoid that.”

 

“Why?”

 

“‘Cause I can’t put into words how sexy you looked in those yoga pants.”

 

“Me?” Louis places a hand on his chest, “Sexy? Hm, that’s a first.”

 

“Oh shut up,” Harry kisses his nose,“you’re so adorably cute it hurts.”

 

“You’re the one to talk mister,” he smiles.

 

“Now,” Harry removes his hands from Louis' bum and rests them behind his own head, “it’s your turn to tell me why you finally accepted to be my boyfriend. I want a full lists with details and –“

 

Louis kisses him passionately to shut up him. “Do you want me to continue?”

 

“No,” Harry laughs,“I don’t need a reminder of how amazing I am.”

 

Louis giggles with him,flipping off Harry's lap to nuzzle into his side. He shuts the lamp off and brings the blanket up from the bottom of the bed to cover their bodies,“Idon’t’ know why I like you.”

 

Harry smoothly swings his arm to hook around Louis' neck,“I love you too darling.”

 

And that – that catches Louis off guard. Was that Harry’s first serious ‘I love you’ or is he just sleepy? Does he expect him to say it back? No, Louis can’t say it back yet.

 

He’s about to ask him if he’s actually serious, but Harry is already dead to the world.

 

Louis smiles shyly instead, and closes his eyes. He lets his mind drift off to sleep with Harry's chest rising and falling beneath his fingertips.

 

One day.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (ask.fm/bravolarry)


	24. chapter xxii .i

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Things start heating up.
> 
> Part 1 of 3

“Can we please not talk about this right now?”

 

“Honestly, do you expect to just put this off forever Louis? It’s December for crying out loud, some people have already got an acceptance letter by now and you haven’t even sent out one application!”

 

“I have two universities picked out already!”

 

“What’s plan B if you don’t get those two, huh?”

 

Louis mouths ‘oh my god’, burying his face in his palms. He hates this with a passion – this, as in, talking about university. Yes, he knows he’s a senior and that he needs to prepare for the future… but it’s scary. No, he’ll never admit that this whole process actually scares him, so he chooses to whine about it instead.

 

Jay, Louis, and the twins are sat at a local tavern getting something small for dinner, because she didn’t feel like cooking and they haven’t gone out to eat in forever. Daisy and Phoebe are coloring on the place mats, with Daisy sitting next to Louis and Phoebe on the opposite side of the booth with Jay.

 

It’s only been five minutes since they’ve been seated and Louis can already tell it’s going to be a long night.

 

A waiter comes up to the now silent table with a worn out smile, “Hi guys, I’m Trevor and I’ll be your server for tonight. Could I start you off with any drinks?” He looks towards Jay first, notepad and pen ready.

 

Louis opens up the menu for the first time, sliding down in his booth to get comfortable. While Jay asks for a tea, he scans the drink options.

 

What _is_ he going to do after high school? Sure, he knows he’s not going to be staying at home forever, but he has no clue what he would want to study –

 

Daisy elbows him in the stomach to interrupt his thoughts. Pouting, he rubs his side and asks why she did that. The little sister points to Trevor, who smiles when Louis looks back up at him.

 

“You look tired,” Louis observes, leaning forward to rest his elbows on the table, “busy day?”

 

“You have no idea,” the waiter snickers, glancing around the tavern. The lighting inside is dark, but Louis can tell Trevor has somewhat brunette hair with blonde roots, probably dyed, with brown eyes and a nice smile. His frame is small, just like Louis, and his voice is smooth. “Every since September we’ve been packed every weekend. This place only opened in August too.”

 

“Well that’s not so bad considering you guys could have no customers at all,” Louis points out, but not in a condescending way.

 

“Yeah true, tips are what pays my rent,” he winks. Louis can pick up on that hint for the bill later.

 

Jay, who’s been quietly listening, asks, “You pay rent? You don’t look a year past eighteen.”

 

Trevor laughs, “Stop you make me blush,” Louis’ eyes crinkle with a smile, “but I wish I could be eighteen again. I’m twenty-one actually, studying my last year at Manchester.”

 

Without needing to look at her, Louis can feel his mother giving him a look and he chooses to ignore it.

 

Shouts from the kitchen area make Trevor remember what he’s suppose to be doing. “Sorry but I have to keep working,” he makes a sour face, “so what would you like to drink…?”

 

“Louis,” the boy answers. Jay gives him another look, but Louis doesn’t see it. “And I don’t know…” the cheerleader looks down at his menu once more, “surprise me with something sweet?” he looks up at Trevor hopefully.

 

“I can’t surprise you with yourself,” the waiter smiles in return. 

 

Louis’ eyes widen slightly at the unexpected answer. The twins, who Louis didn’t’ know were listening, coo at Trevor. “Louis he just called you sweet!” “Louis I think he likes you!” These two girls are smarter than he gives them credit for.

 

“I think I’ll just have a Shirley temple? If that’s available?” he bi-passes the response, knowing if he were to say anything about it that Trevor could get the wrong –

 

“The real question is if you’re available?”

 

_This guy._

 

“Okay, this is cute and all, but we’d like our drinks please,” Jay intervenes, saving Louis from having to answer. Trevor looks a bit defeated but not entirely hopeless, nodding his head and going back to the kitchen. 

 

Louis shakes his head,amazed, when he’s out of ear reach, “Honestly I don’t understand what’s going on these past few months… I’ve never been hit on so much.” 

 

“Louis,” that’s Jay’s you-know-what-you-did voice, oh no.

 

“ _Come on_ ,” the boy drags out exasperated, “it’s not my fault he got the wrong idea, mum, you know _I_ know I’m already dating someone. He just,” Louis plays with the end of his shirt, “…I’m not ugly?”

 

“But you make me think you purposely flirted with him for attention.”

 

Louis narrows his eyes, offended, “No, actually, I didn’t.”

 

“Then why didn’t you just let him take your order?”

 

“Am I not allowed to be polite to people and ask about their day? Is that a crime now that I’m with Harry?”

 

The tavern is fairly quiet, apart from Jay and Louis’ arguing. Opening up her menu, Jay decides it’s better not to try and start a battle with her son. It’s not worth the trouble, after all the years she’s grown to learn his personality, and a public argument will only lead him to make a scene.

 

“Girls do you want some chicken fingers and fries?” Jay directs the question to the two twins, who are nearly finished with the coloring place mat. Louis, however, is not done with this conversation, for he keeps staring at his mother expectantly for an answer to his previous question.

 

As Daisy is about to ask for pasta and meatballs instead, Louis curtly interrupts her with “Well?”

 

“We’re out in public, Lou, stop acting immature,” Jay looks him dead in the eye, “If you don’t understand where I’m coming from when I said you flirted with him for attention then there’s no point in fighting over it.”

 

“No point in –?” his eyes are wide with sheer offense, “You basically just fucking called me an attention whore!”

 

“ _Louis_.” Jay scolds, but with a look on her face that screams beyond surprised. Louis has never cursed in front of the twins. “What is _wrong_ with you today?”

 

Without another word, Louis’s storming out of the booth without even so much as a word of explanation. This isn’t a new thing, in fact, in the past few weeks Louis’ behavior has increasing grownmore confusing and bipolar. One minute, he’s happy and enjoyable to be around, and the next, he’s a sassy bitch that complains about everything. His emotions are like a rubber band, and with one tug he’s bound to snap. Jay can only pray asthat drugs aren’t the poison influencing Louis’ behavior.

                                                                                 

-

 

-

 

After the “tavern incident” as Louis titles it, he ended up driving to Tiffany’s because they haven’t hung out in a while. Eleanor is long gone, well only an hour but still, so both co-captions needed to talk strategy for the winter semester. After about twenty minutes they grew bored, ended up smoking and talking deeply about what’s going on in their life. Tiffany agrees what Jay said was fucked up.

 

The next day, after a very awkward morning with Jay, Louis walks down the hallway, checking the supplies in his arms to assure he has all the right books. He glances up, taking note that everyone isstrangely staring at him – like he’s an unsolved mystery. Well maybe not everyone, but there’re a group of girls he thinksare juniors that're staring with disgust. And he looks across the same group of girls totwo freshmen who also hold the same look. Just next to first freshman, a boy eyes him up-and-down and Louis sees the mischief dancing in his eyes.

 

As if he never saw anyone staring, he continues down the hallway, now with his eyes trained toward the floor. Reasons why everyone iswatching him run through wild in his mind, like does his outfit look horrible? Is there a hickey on his neck that he didn't cover this morning? He was _trying_ to take a shower last night and Harry surprised him, ending the night with his throat sore and hickeys littering his body. Luckily no one was at his house at the time, but.

 

A group of footie players stand outside his next class, with Ben and mostly sophomoressnickering at Louis as he tries to walk by.

 

"What the hell are you looking at?" Louis nearly hisses at Ben, who laughs even more.

 

"Did you not see what Caroline posted on Facebook?"

 

" _What_?" Louis' face turns to shock, then anger, "I swear to god that girl always wants to start shit with me and I’ve –" he starts to march away to find Caroline herself, but Ben pulls his arm back like a parent with a small toddler.

 

Ben rolls his eyes when Louis huffs in annoyance. " _She_ didn't say anything."

 

"Can you stop playing charades and just tell me what's going on?" He rips his arm away from Ben’s grip, flipping his hair and smoothing down his shirt. The bell rings overhead, and the rest of the football players begin to disperse to different classes.

 

"There's a video up on Caroline’s wall,” the boy starts to walk away, leaving Louis to ponder in his thoughts of what Caroline could have posted,“I suggest you go watch it,” then he’s out of the cheerleader’s sight.

 

"Thanks I guess," Louis mumbles, pressing his books back against his chest and speed walking to the bathroom. He'll just say that he was at the guidance office, it’s not like his teacher would care anyway.

 

Luckily, no one's in the bathroom when he arrives, so he hurriedly sets his books down on the sink and pulls out his phone. Typing in the pass code quicker than he’s ever done before, he goes straight to Facebook,opening up Caroline's profile. He almost doesn't notice how his notifications have blown up and now stands at 50. Louis scrunches his facein confusion, clicking the blue world to see the first five notifications all of from different people commenting on Caroline’s video and mentioning him.

 

He sees the word _slut_ three times.

 

That’s when the first tear drops.

 

What in God’s name could the video be? Why are random people he's never met before calling him a slut?

 

He finally gains the confidence to click on the thumbnail that leads to Caroline’s video. The thumbnail itself is black, and the bottom says that the video's only 30 seconds. How could –

 

There's the sound of steps outside the bathroom and Louis pauses, just about ready to kick out whoever wanted to enter, but the person keepswalking down the hallway. With a deep breath he clicks play. It's blurry, but finally the camera comes to focus on a couch. As the camera adjusts, Louis bites his lip, because he sees what this video is. It's from Eleanor's house on Saturday. A person watching can't see Louis' face but it's obviously the back of his head. Harry's face is on show however, and Louis can tell this is where he's begging to cum. There's movement under the blanket where Louis' hand was, and then Harry face hidesin Louis' neck when he cums. To anyone who viewed this, it's painfully clear what just occurred. Louis slowly starts letting his shoulders shake with tears slipping down his cheek. 

                                                                                   

-

 

It’s ten minutes passed the bell and Harry can tell something’s off. Louis isn’t the one to skip class. If he were caught up at the office or nurse he would’ve texted Harry to tell the teacher he was going to be late.

 

But Louis has gym before this class, so maybe he’s taking extra time getting ready.

 

The clock ticks on and the teacher continues lecturing… another twenty minutes goes by. By the half hour mark, Harry starts thinking of the absolute worst. Did Louis get hurt again? Did he have to be taken to the hospital unconscious?

                                                                              

His hand shoots up, effectively cutting off the teacher mid-sentence. “Can I go to the bathroom?”

 

The man hesitates but nonetheless nods, “Take the pass, and try to hurry back.” Other students squint their eyes in confusion as they watch Harry quickly exit – for one, the teacher never lets anyone leave during a lecture, and two, Harry _never_ wants to leave unless Louis is right with him. Some of them snigger, thinking of the handjob video, but others hold a look of genuine concern.

 

He slides his hand along the bathroom door, easily pushing it open. Harry's greeted with silence, thankfully, and walks over to stand in front of the sink.

 

There's a sound from the stall in the far corner that captures his attention - almost like a sob. "Hello?" his deep voice calls out, and he hesitantly steps closer to the stall.

 

“H-Harry?”

 

The football captain knows that voice anywhere.

 

“Lou?” with new motivation, he practically runs the rest of the way to the stall, tugging on the locked door handle.

 

“N-No!” Louis' voice calls out, with a clear distinction that he's been crying. “I-I wanna be alone, p-please haz.”

 

“Absolutely not,” Harry scans the outline of the stall. There's a good foot of open space at the bottom, and he doesn't care of how dirty the floor is and ducks down. Effortlessly, he pulls his body to slide under the door, causing Louis to start in surprise.

 

The sight of the smaller boy breaks Harry's heart right then and there. Louis' eyes are stained red, with matching colored tear streaks running down his face. The blue of his eyes sparkle with fresh tears, which are hastily wiped away by a tiny, shaking, hand. His arms are wet, obviously from crying into them. The shirt on his chest is creased with how his body is curled into itself in the corner of the stall, almost as if he's trying to swallow himself whole. Harry's never seen him this distressed.

 

“G-Get the fuck out-t!”

 

And clearly Louis didn't want Harry to see him like this.

 

“Lou –“ Harry steps forward, only to hear a crush of glass under his shoes. He picks up his right foot to inspect the bottom and finds the remains of a phone. Louis' phone. “I’m sorry I’ll pay for a new one –“

 

“Don't e-even bother,” Louis sniffles, voice still shaky with his recent sobs, “I d-don’t need it.” A wave of fresh tears makes him take anunstable breath, and he begins to cry once more.

 

Harry abandons the phone and crouches down in front of Louis, wrapping his arms around the boy. Louis tries to object, his body going tense, but he’s no match for Harry's strength. He's easily pulled bridal style on his boyfriend's lap, with Harry's arms slipped under his knees and around his back. Leaning his head onto Harry's shoulder, hegives up on caring how ugly he must look as he cries even harder. This warmth surrounding him, loving him, makes him fell as if he's not alone. Louis hates showing his emotions, he prefers to bottle them up and not show anyone he's suffering, but his walls are slowly starting to crumble with Harry's caring and love. He's never felt uncomfortable with sharing something personal with Harry, and vice versa. Their relationship is open and Louis' never had this - this support in these types of situations before. Whenever someone would call him words like _whore_ or _slut_ he would wallow in self-hatred until he gained the courage to look people in the eye without fear. But in the past that's led him to beg to change schools so he wouldn't have to face the same individuals that made him cry.

 

This time he doesn't have the urgency to leave after what Caroline did - all he wants to do is stay in this boy’slap he's cradled on, crying into his shoulder.

 

“Baby,” Harry squeezes Louis closer to his chest, “baby, please, tell me what's wrong. I can help, just, please stop crying.” Harry feels tears starting to form in his own eyes from sight of his always happy and loud boyfriend unable to speak because of how heavy his sobs rake through his body.

 

“C-Caroline,” Louis manages to get out through gritted teeth, “s-she's such a fucking b-bitch.”

 

Harry's eyes widen, then narrow, “Caroline Flack? My ex? What –“

 

Louis shakes his head repeatedly, “G-God, how could I been so fucking stupid!” he yells, and Harry doesn't try to quiet him,“I s-should have fucking known someone would video tape us –“

 

“Hold on,” Harry gentle places his hands (that completely cover Louis' tiny shoulders because they're so big) and rearranges Louis' body so they're face to face. Louis' expression is contorted like he's about to cry, but no sounds or tears flow. “Did you say tape us? Us as in you and me –?“

 

“Y-Yeah, Harry,” Louis closes his eyes, hanging his head with guilt, “I-I’m sorry Ididn’t think she would take a fucking _video_ –“

 

“What're you talking about –?”

 

“Eleanor's house!” Louis exclaims, feed up of having to think and talk about it.

 

“What happened at –“ realization dawns on Harry's face, “oh.”

 

“That cunt posted a video of you cumming on her fucking Facebook!” Louis rages, “and everyone is fucking commenting on how much of a slut I am, Harry, they're being so - so,” he breaks off crying again, and Harry pulls him into a proper bear hug, with his wide chest practically enveloping Louis' entire frame.

 

“I'm so sorry,” Harry whispers in the boy's ear, wishing he could take all of Louis' troubles and throw them away. Louis is naturally gorgeous, with a face and body sculpted by angels and a personality to match, of course there’re going to be people that will find any reason to hate him. It's just a natural instinct of jealousy with humans… but it doesn't make Louis' life any easier. Harry knows he gets shit for just being beautiful, but Caroline has gone too far. What happens between couples is not meant to be broadcasted for hundreds of people to see on the Internet. What Louis does to pleasure his boyfriend should not have any affect on how he's looked at publicly. Obviously these people who called Louis a slut over a keyboard are just to levelheaded to understand that.

 

Harry wishes he could destroy every single one of them.

 

“Let’s go home okay? Do you wanna go to yours or mine?”

 

“Yours,” Louis wipes his nose pathetically. Nodding his head, Harry helps Louis stand to his feet and gives an extra five-minute hug, in which Louis buries his face in his neck and squeezes like his life depends on it. “You always give the best hugs,” he comments lightly.

 

Harry laughs, pulling back from the hug and kissing him sloppily on the cheek. The cheerleader makes a disgusted face, but ultimately cracks a smile. “I’m sorry you have to deal with her,” Harry holds his face with both hands, smoothing his thumb along the bottoms of Louis’ eyes to dry up any tears, “I didn’t think she’d be like this. I thought she was over me.”

 

With his head tilted up from Harry’s hands, he wrinkles his nose and breathes evenly, “Obviously she’s not. Now I’m gonna be forever known as the whore that gave Harry Styles a handjob, all thanks to her.”

 

“Lou,” he takes a deep breath, “I know I have no right to say how you can and can’t feel but I know one thing is that you never give a fuck about what other people say. Why are you letting some underclassman make you cry? _Look at you_ ,” Louis slightly blushes under Harry’s awed gaze, “you’re so fucking beautiful and talented. I feel like I have to say this every time we have a talk like this but it’s true. They’re all just so fucking jealous of you.” Louis looks like he’s about to protest, “And don’t even think about saying you’re not. Caroline’s been trying to make Varsity for three years now and you made it on your first year here, without even experience! She’s looking for ways to make you look like you don’t deserve me but it’s me who doesn’t deserve _you,_ baby.”

 

There’s a new sparkle in Louis’ eyes, this time, from the fresh tears of utter adoration. “You really think that?”

 

The taller boy can’t help but chuckle, “Of course. Ten thousand percent.”

 

With Harry’s arm circled around Louis’ hip, the two boys walk to the office and sign themselves out for the rest of the day (of course with permission from both parents) (Anne still has no idea about Louis but thought Harry just needed a day to clear his head).

 

-

 

Harry, sadly, had football practice at the indoor arena almost an hour away on the same day of the Louis and Caroline incident. He tried to reschedule it but Louis insisted he goes because the team only gets once a week to practice during off-season, so the captain apologized profusely before dropping Louis off at his respected home. Before he did, however, he gave Louis his old iPhone 5 for stepping on and breaking his old one. Louis insisted he broken his old phone on purpose,nevertheless Harry retaliated with ‘it’s _my_ ex girlfriend who made you break it in the first place, it’s the least I can do, baby’.

 

Now Louis’s sitting in bed, with his Facebook App deleted and account deactivated, texting the one person he knows can make him feel better – besides Harry of course.

 

To Liam

From Louis:

_hey ):_

 

To Louis

From Liam:

_Sorry it took me a long time to reply I was asleep_

 

To Liam

From Louis:

_go to sleep babesur sick I forgot_

 

To Louis

From Liam:

_Why the sad face tho whats wrong?_

 

To Liam

From Louis:

_alot of caroline drama and it sucks_

 

To Louis

From Liam:

_Aww, if you can, distance yourself from it bc drama really does suck and i would give you the warmest hug i could_

_Wheres harry?_

 

To Liam

From Louis:

_aw thanks, hes at that far away footie practice. but you didn’t hear? at eleanors house she got a video of me and harry doing shit on the couch and she fucking posted it on her fb. everyone at this fucking school hates me I swear_

 

To Louis

From Liam:

_Thats stupid as fuckand youre not hated lou_

 

To Liam

From Louis:

_like idk i feel like i am bc ppl know me and harry have gone all the way so they judge me and call me a whore. you should see the fucking comments. 126 comments, li. 120 fucking 6. i haven’t even seen the new ones_

 

To Louis

From Liam:

_Fuck them for judging you, they dont know whats going on in your life_

 

To Liam

From Louis:

_thats what im saying and like im pretty good at ignoring her but im fucking pissed off she would post that, like ive never done anything to this girl and shes starting shit for nothing_

 

To Louis

From Liam:

_Punch her_

_I hate when people start shit like that but i don’t know she’s harrys ex so shes trying to ruin ur rep you know?_

 

To Liam

From Louis:

_trust me i want to so badand ik_

_but like im ready to kill someone_

 

To Louis

From Liam:

_Okay dont kill anyone but she needs to be taught a fucking lesson_

 

To Liam

From Louis:

_ahaha i wont ik its not worth it_

_but im gonna say something to her tomorrow_

 

To Louis

From Liam:

_I just hope that you get through this and you dont get worse or stressed out more or anything, it may seem stupid that i say that but for me personally I get like really stressed out really easy and idk_

                                                                             

To Liam

From Louis:                                             

_danks babes like i usually dont get stressed about other ppl bc im good at ignoring it but shes trying to make me look like a slut and its rly fucking annoying_

_I have work but ill facetime you later, mwah_

 

-

 

The next morning, Louis takes his own car to school instead of having Harry pick him up. He’s on his way to the junior parking lot to talk to Caroline, and when he says talk, he means lay down the law. He’s the new co-caption, and what she did will not be accepted. He’s gonna make sure she realizes that.

 

Niall and Zayn meet him at the senior parking lot at 7:40 A.M. Louis made the two boys promise they wouldn’t tell Harry about this, because Harry didn’t want him to make a scene. Oh well. He’s still fucking pissed off.

 

“What’re you gonna say?” Zayn asked as they walked over to a group of juniors huddled by Caroline’s new car, lighting a cigarette as he does.

 

“You’ll see.”

 

The juniors all pick their head up to look at the seniors approaching, and clear a path for the three boys to walk straight to Caroline. If Louis were to have gone alone, he probably would have been laughed at, but with Niall and Zayn, the juniors know not to mess with his group.

 

Caroline flips her hair off her shoulders, standing up straighter when Louis stands in front of her. She’s still shorter than him, anyway.

 

“Listen,” Louis starts, his voice low with a growl. Everyone is silent, with a circle forming around the two. “I don’t know what the fuck your problem is, I haven’t done anything to you the whole time I’ve been here. You’re always talking shit about me just because I’m dating your _ex_ boyfriend, for what? Do you honestly think you’re gonna win him back by being a bitch? What’re you trying to do by posting that video of Harry and me? It hasn’t affected how Harry looks at me at all, and I don’t give a _fuck_ about what your little shit friends have to say about me. Harry has told me, _multiple_ times actually, that he dated you out of pity. You’re not even cute, Caroline, you’re actually burning my eyes from how ugly you are. You’re fat, you have no arse, your face is fucked up, you have no tits whatsoever, your hair is dead, and you’re obviously not blonde so stop trying to be one. I’m all natural, sweetie, no matter what you try to say. If Harry actually thought you were worth anything, he would still be dating you right now. But, as you can fucking see, he picked me. So I suggest if you don’t want to be kicked off the squad, because being a cheerleader is the only source of friends for you, you stop with all the shit you’re trying to start. You don’t scare me. _At all._ And you’re no competition for me either, so,” Louis shrugs, “stay out of my way and we’ll have no more problems.” With that, he spins on his heels, walking away from the shocked group. Niall and Zayn smirk at Caroline, then turn and go with the boy.

                                                  

He can proudly say, Caroline or anyone who heard about what happened didn’t bother him for the rest of the week. In fact, she avoided him at all costs and Tiffany told him she deleted the video. When they had practice on Wednesday preparing for the next expo, Louis had all the cheerleaders meet at the gym for conditioning. He made Caroline and all her friends do an extra hour of running on the treadmill, just because he’s co-caption, and maybe they were looking at him the wrong way.

 

-

 

It’s Friday, and Louis, Eleanor, and Tiffany are in Eleanor’s car heading towards Wylde’s. Wylde’s, to summary briefly, is the where someone that age ranges from 15-19 can come to dance and/or find someone to hook up with on the wide assortment of couches the club provides. It’s a sleazy, run down club, but the music is amazing and it overlooks a lake. If you’re lucky, the bartender on staff will sell you an actual drink for extra money instead of the legal water and soda. Louis agreed to come, when Tiffany first purposed they hang out tonight, only because she said Eleanor misses the two.

 

When he got to Tiffany’s house, the two girls were already there and dressed as if they were going to a rave. Louis felt hugely out of place, considering he had sweats and white hoodie on. ‘I thought you said we were going to the movies’ he said to Tiffany, who smirked evilly and threw him an outfit saying ‘change of plans, it’s the last teen night for Wylde’s until summer’.

 

Being Louis loves Wylde’s for the music, he reluctantly changed and now realizes his mistake as they travel closer to the club. His mistake being; he’s never had a boyfriend to worry about when he went out. He tries to reason with Tiffany that he needs to go home, but she doesn’tcare.

 

With her response being, "just don’t dance with anyone," Louis eventually stops fighting and gives in. Harry thinks they’re going to the movies, giving Louis the excuse of being in the dark.

                                                                               

And Louis thought, yeah, okay that seems easy enough, not to dance with anyone and have a good time by himself… but actually it turns out to be the complete opposite. See, Louis is dressed in tight black jeans and a cropped red shirt that curves around his neck. (Just for the record he’s also cold as hell, being it’s December, but everyone knows once the dancing starts it will be too hot to wear a jacket.) With his bum being as big as it is, and how he has curves to die for, from the back he looks like a girl with short hair.

 

Whenever the three friendsmake so much as step towards the dance floor, there’re guys on their backs, grinding into them and trying to suck on their necks. Tiffany lets them, evening throwing her head back and moaning at the feeling of lips against her skin and the beat thumping through her body. Eleanor's guy is way too big and beefy for a small girl like her, so she pushes him away only to have another mystery guy step in.

 

Louis didn't expect it, but he's the same way. Guys he thought for sure were straight are trying to grind into his arse, and for an hour he glares and shoves many guys away. With his phone still open to Snapchat, he’s contemplating on when to open Harry’s snap, because he can’t open it without being in the bathroom or a dark corner with no one around. For the first ten minutes, Louis was able to run back and forth from the bathroom and still talk to Harry. He looked suspicious, however, when Louis seemed like he was just sitting in the bathroom without watching the ‘movie’ he was seeing. The cheerleader sent him back a picture with Tiffany saying she was on her period as an explanation. Harry didn’t question him after that.

 

The three friends are sat at the bar stools, pointing out girls who look like total trash and laughing at them. Different guys come up to them, two of them being 15, and try cheesy pick up lines to get one of the three to dance. One particular guy, who made Louis laugh more than he would’ve liked to, came up to him with his phone opened saying, “this is the weather”. Louis smiled, confused, and looked at the phone to see a cloud from Google Images. The guy then ended up walking away, with explanation or anything. Louis ended up giggling about it for ten minutes.

 

Rain starts to pour down from the ceiling, making everyone confused ‘cause there’s no open roof, but with quick realization everyone sees three guys on top balconies squirting water guns on the teenagers. Everyone erupts in cheers, embracing the water by letting their hair fall down their shoulders and their clothes stick to the outlines of their bodies. Tiffany pulls Eleanor and Louis by the arm to dance, circling her hips in a suggestive manner. A guy clings to her back within seconds. Louis gets lost in it all, not even realizing he opened his mouth. He's laughing, and having a great time with his best friends - he doesn't want this to end.

 

His shirt now clings to his chest, showing his nipples through the light fabric. Out of the corner of his eye he can see Tiffany's bright pink bra on display, but he doesn't say anything. A hand from a guy grinding against another boy grabs hold of his arse. Louis lets out a surprised, breathless moan because he doesn't even really notice; he’s lost in his own little world. He's not thinking about Harry, or anything else. These moments, with complete strangers and a whole dance floor of hot kids, are Louis' element. And having someone’s hand pressed against your arse – that’s a huge bonus. 

 

The guy leaves his other boy to come behind Louis to kiss and lick into his ear, gripping his hips hard enough to leave bruises.

 

Louis jolts from his floating state, because _what the fuck is this guy think he’s doing?_ He can't kiss him. He’s not even supposed to be dancing with him!

 

He tries to spin the smaller boy around to kiss him properly but Louis' brain finally clicks and he puncheshim straight in the jaw. He doesn’t see the guy fall to the ground, being the lights of the club shine in his eyes, so instead he takes off running to the nearest bathroom. Two people pinch his arse on the way there, and he literally slaps the third one who tries. 

 

He’s on the floor of the bathroom, balling his eyes on in a matter of minutes of leaving the dance floor. He knows the only reason why he’s crying this much is because of the cinnamon Fireball shooters he drank coming to the club – he knew that was a bad idea from the start. It’s only been an hour since he’s been at this club, and he needs to leave.

 

He doesn’t know how to feel right now. He’s not _used_ to having to restrict himself like this, but it’s _Harry_. Harry, who’s sitting at home waiting for his boyfriend to respond to his Snapchat wondering why he’s taking so long. Harry, who thinks Louis’s at the movies and doesn’t recognize the cheerleader’s lie. Harry, who’s utterly gorgeous and funny and sweet, doesn’t deserve an attention whore of boyfriend. “She was fucking right,” Louis slurs as he cries into his arms, “she’s always fucking right.”

 

He doesn’t come to awareness there’s two arms being draped around him and comforting words being whispered into his ear until he smells the familiar scent of perfume from earlier. Eleanor is crouched in front of him, with Tiffany hugging his side – both girls are soaking wet and more than puzzled, but stay at Louis’ side. They even went in the boy’s bathroom to make sure Louis’s okay, which obviously he’s not, but they didn’t just abandon him to find a random guy to hook up with.

 

“I’m such a fucking whore,” he lets the tears flow freely down his face, “I shouldn’t even be here, this guy – he almost _kissed me_ , oh my g-god.”

 

Tiffany shakes her head repeatedly, “Lou that doesn’t count as anything, Harry won’t be mad, trust me –“

 

“He gets fucking jealous when Liam so much as _looks_ at me!” Louis defends, hugging his knees tighter to his chest, “What, how is he gonna, what am I even suppose to say to him –“

 

“Don’t say anything,” the blonde girl suggests, wobbling a little from balancing, “Just pretend nothing happened. He thinks you’re at the movies, doesn’t he?”

 

Louis takes a deep, shaky, breath, “I – I can’t lie. I have to tell him.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is all based on true events. Especially the weather guy.


	25. chapter xxii .ii

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Louis expects a lot of things that don't happen.
> 
> Part 2 of 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this is flashback. Warning for sensitive viewers: there's violence and sexual abuse. If you're uncomfortable reading this, you don't have to - it's just a little more information about Louis' past that might be helpful.

"Louis! Louis look he's coming this way-"

 

"Shut _up_!" Louis shushes Sophia, looking in his locker mirror to check his face. But just to be sure, "is there anything on my face?"

 

"Nope."

 

"Teeth?" he flashes his pearly whites.

 

"All good."

 

"Hair?"

 

"Perfect."

 

He finally breathes for the first time in between classes. As he waits for the normal routine to take place, he looks to Sophia for her signal that Jesse is right behind him.

 

There’s the signal, oh god.

 

"Hey could I-"

 

Louis spins in an instant, sharpened pencil already in hand. He mentally curses himself out for not even waiting for Jesse to finish his sentence.

But Jesse’s smile makes Louis' heart flutter and it's all right.

 

"I’m surprised you have so many pencils, I lose them everyday."

 

And wow, okay, this is the most effort Jesse has put in a conversation. Louis tries not to let his panic show in his face, and his eyes flick over to Sophia before answering, smoothly of course, "yeah," he laughs, "I’m always prepared." Sexual innuendo? Nice job Louis.

 

"Well as long as I got you I won't have to worry," Jesse winks. _Winks_ god dammit. "I’ll see you around." and their shoulders brush as he continues down the hallway.

 

He slams back against his locker, looking longingly as the boy retreats away, "that fucker knows how much I want him," he scowls, "he's playing with me and it's not _fair_."

 

Sophia joins him back at his side, laughing at his facial expression. "So did anything happen on Facebook last night?"

 

It takes Louis a second, but he gasps when he remembers. "Okay, so I changed my profile pic to me wearing a flannel, yeah?" he looks over his shoulder to see Jesse talking to someone down the hall, "and he _liked_ it but, then unliked it a second later so I just thought it was a mistake or whatever. But today he's wearing a flannel," his voice his high with excitement, "he wore that for me, I’m like 99% sure. I don't know what do you think?"

 

"He totally did!" Sophia squeals, "and he actually talked to you!"

 

"That’s what I’m saying!" Louis suddenly turns serious, "what if he's planning something? Oh my god, I’m not _ready_ for that shit Soph, like what if he asks me to hang out? I wouldn't know what to -"

 

The bell rings overhead, cutting off Louis' stumbling train of thoughts.

 

-

 

The first time Louis sees Jesse after school is at the cafe - and the worst part is he's fucking _working_. His work clothes are hideous and do nothing for his curves, bum, or whole body in general. Louis’s making a latte for a rushed looking lady when he spots Jesse come out of his car, tank top and biceps and muscles and all. He manages not to drop the latte. After the lady has paid and goes back to rushing around, Louis can only anxiously wait for Jesse to notice his presence behind the counter. He’s itching to text Sophia and tell her in capital letters CODE FUCKING RED AND BLUE.

 

(Red being Jesse)

(Blue being "I look like shit")

 

"Pencil!" Jesse acknowledges him after he's done looking over the menu above.

 

Louis wants to bang his head against the counter and cry because out of all the nicknames in the world of course he gets _pencil_. Instead he smiles in a greeting, "hey."

 

"I’ve been coming here forever how come I’ve never noticed you?"

 

"I just started taking afternoon shifts this week."

 

"Ah," Jesse laughs, even though nothing was funny. That doesn't stop Louis from laughing with him. "Well then you'll have to learn my usual. Medium caramel macchiato extra caramel, skim milk."

 

"Sounds good," Louis picks up a cup and marks the abbreviations for Tammy to make. He would make the drink, usually, but like _hello_.

 

He purposely stretches backwards to hand Tammy the cup, giving Jesse a good view of his arse. Once he spins back around, he starts ringing him up at the register. Jesse is totally blushing.

 

"That’ll be $5.20, please." Louis uses his flirtatious smile.

 

"Aw come on, no discount for the person that you let borrow a pencil everyday?" Jesse leans on the counter with both of his arms. Louis sees the boy only has a five-dollar bill.

 

Does that mean Jesse considers them friends? "Fine," Louis sighs like it pains him, which makes Jesse laugh. Score one for Louis. He gives Jesse the employee discount. When Jesse hands over his money, their fingers brush, and Louis thinks it's by accident that Jesse’s fingers purposely touch his wrist, but when he looks up Jesse winks. Oh.

 

Louis coughs awkwardly, out of all things to handle that situation. He gives Jesse his change and the boy automatically puts it in the tip jar.

 

Jesse moves a bit to the side to wait for his drink just in case another customer was to come. Thankfully there's no one to be seen. "When do you have a break?"

 

Louis blinks at him, "I can take one whenever I want, but it's only like 15 minutes."

 

"You should take one now, cause I have nothing to do for twenty minutes before I have to go to my dad's shop."

 

Wait, what?

 

"Uh," Louis stutters, "s-sure! Do you want me to -" he motions to go around the counter to meet him in the front. This is actually happening. Jesse wants to hang out with him, _willingly_. Well it's only for 15 minutes but _still_.

 

"Meet me in the alley out back," Tammy gives Jesse his drink with a 'have a good day', "I’ll wait for you."

 

Louis takes a long breath when Jesse’s out of his vision. Then he rips off his apron and clocks out for his break, with shaking hands mind you. This is _happening_. Where’s his phone? Sophia is going to flip shit when he tells her.

 

He forgets his phone all together and goes to the back door that leads to the alley. He takes another breath before opening the door, noticing Jesse smoking up against the wall right besides him.

 

"I didn't know you smoked," Louis stands in front of him, not wanting to be out of Jesse’s line of view. He loves it when Jesse trails his eyes over his body - like right now for example.

 

As Louis watches Jesse stomp out the fag, he expects him to answer.

 

That’s the first time Jesse kisses him.

 

Louis’s not expecting it at _all_ , so he lets out a surprised yell before Jesse’s lips are on his. Louis has no idea where his coffee is but he's too busy flipping the fuck out because _what_? Jesse has never expressed any liking towards him and now the boy's hands are sliding under his shirt and smoothing themselves over his small hips. Louis' back arches into Jesse’s touch, and he finally shuts his mind off. He closes his eyes, sliding his hands up Jesse’s arms to wrap around his neck. They snog for a good three minutes before Jesse pulls away, leaving Louis breathless.

 

Here’s Louis, a fucking basic junior, kissing the hottest new senior in his high school. He loves his life sometimes.

 

"I’m sorry," Jesse doesn't look apologetic, "you're just - really cute."

 

Louis' cheeks do not spark red.

 

Jesse looks for hesitation in his eyes, but sees none. "Can I-"

                          

"Yeah," Louis pulls him back to kiss him by his collar, letting their lips reconnect.

 

-

 

The first time Louis lets Jesse fuck him was two weeks later at a party.

 

Louis' drunk, heavily so, and clinging to Jesse like a life preserver. The party is for some senior's birthday and Louis is the only junior here, meaning he has no one to talk to but Jesse. Which is amazingly good in Louis' opinion. The two boys have been talking non-stop since the day at the café. Jesse has been asking him to hang out since then and Louis was finally free tonight.

 

He _really_   wants to kiss Jesse again.

 

It’s one in the morning and Louis' tired but doesn't want to be the baby of the party. Everyone is fucking going crazy, well maybe that's just the alcohol in his brain amplifying the lights and noises, but he's only focused on Jesse. Jesse’s giving him the attention he wants, too, so that's a huge plus.

 

The two are laid behind some bushes while the party continues not twenty feet away. Jesse’s hands are in Louis' jeans, groping his arse cheeks while he sucks on the junior's neck. Louis moans with his touches, _finally_ getting somewhere with Jesse. He’s been waiting for weeks to have Jesse want him as much as Louis does. He wishes he could remember this tomorrow morning.

 

Then Jesse’s pulling back and fishing out tiny packets of lube and a condom out of his back pocket.

 

"Um," Louis hesitates for the first time that evening, staring at Jesse’s hands.

 

"I know it's not a hotel but no one will bother us," Jesse sets the lube and condom on the grass besides the two, smashing his lips with Louis. Louis' too distracted by the two foils to kiss back for a good ten seconds.

 

Louis' not a virgin, far from it, but he doesn't want the first time Jesse fucks him behind some bushes at a random person's house. He wants to remember this forever.

 

"Jesse I-" Louis stops himself. He can't say to Jesse he wants to end things here and go home. Jesse will think he's prude and never talk to him again.

 

"Yeah?" Jesse’s lips detach from Louis' body to look into his eyes.

 

"Fuck it," Louis slides his shirt off and Jesse’s eyes gleam with his movements.

 

When Louis' bouncing on Jesse, not properly stretched and burning a little, someone pulls back the bush they're hiding behind. Louis gasps, and drunkenly flops to the ground with Jesse’s cock slipping out of him with a slick noise. Louis hisses when he's empty once more, but finds his shirt he tugged off a while ago and throws it over his bottom half. The person who pulled back the bush is laughing hysterically. He looks at the two again and runs away.

 

Jesse hurriedly gets dressed and pulls Louis to his feet, dragging him to his car to finish the job.

 

Louis gets pounded into Jesse’s backseat and fogs up his windows. Jesse drops Louis back home without even a kiss goodbye, driving fast away from the junior's house. Louis tries to reason in his head that Jesse had a curfew, but ends up crying himself to sleep.

 

-

 

Jesse ignores his texts for the rest of that weekend.

 

-

 

Jesse doesn't come to Louis' locker that Monday for a pencil. Sophia has to listen as Louis frantically tries to figure out for an hour after school on why Jesse would do this to him. He always pictures Jesse as the perfect

boy, polite, charming, funny, but he's a fucking _douche bag_ in Louis' mind.

 

He still has to drag himself to his night shift at the café. He gets to go home at 10, at least, compared to midnight. Just as he's wrapping up his last customer for the night - who needs coffee at this hour anyway - he spots Jesse waiting in his car in front. It’s like he's waiting for Louis to come out.

 

Louis has a half a mind to go out the back way and ignore the fucker. But he knows he won't.

 

And okay, he goes out the front entrance expecting Jesse to rush over to him and apologize straight away. But, of course nothing he expects goes as planned, and Jesse pulls him into his back seat without a _word_.

 

Jesse is kissing him, hard, and Louis really wants to listen to his conscience and slap him. Slap him for making him think this whole weekend something happened that ruined whatever they had going. But Jesse’s _kissing_ him, which means everything's okay. Everything they had will go back to normal.

 

-

 

When Jesse’s fucking Louis on the junior's couch a week later, he calls Louis a slut for the first time.

 

It slips out in a whisper when Louis’s rolling his hips back into Jesse’s cock. He knows his curves are absence, and he knows they look even more sinful when he's working them. "You’re such a fucking slut," Jesse pants from above him, closing his eyes and focusing on the feeling of Louis' tight arse around his cock.

 

Louis' hips falter their movements, but keep going. All he can think about as Jesse keeps thrusting inside of him is the word. He’s never been called a slut. Loser, yes, faggot, of course - but this is different. He’s _Jesse’s_ slut. It makes a spike of arousal travel through his whole body.

 

When Jesse comes into the condom and pulls out, Louis stares at him with adoration. One day Jesse will ask him to be his boyfriend, and Louis will jump into his arms and scream yes. His first actual boyfriend, wow.

 

-

 

The first time Jesse hits him, it’s three months into their "relationship" as Louis puts it.

 

They’ve been on and off for months, constantly torn apart when Louis questions what they are. Jesse argues he's not ready for a boyfriend and Louis always contradicts him with 'you've been fucking me this whole time though!'. Jesse always makes up for it with more sex, and Louis is getting tired of the cycle.

 

Sophia even agreed Jesse wasn't good for him. There are rumors every now and then that Jesse is sleeping with someone else but Louis always ignored them - Jesse and him are meant to be together. Louis would fight with Sophia over the matter, and Louis would stop talking to her for days until one of them said sorry.

 

But here they are again, Louis and Jesse that is, yelling at each other over weekend plans.

 

Louis’s in Jesse’s basement, being that's his room in his parent’s house, and he’s trying to get Jesse to come with him to a family sweet sixteen.

 

"I just want you to come, what the fuck is your problem?"

 

"I'm not your fucking boyfriend, that's my problem, I'm not meeting your family!" Jesse stomps out another fag. It’s his third one since school has ended.

 

Louis fumes, "How the fuck am I not considered your boyfriend!"

 

"I don't fucking like you like that! I never have!"

 

It’s silent. Louis’s staring at the back of Jesse’s head, stunned into silence.

 

"What are you trying to say?" the junior whispers, feeling weak. His knees feel week, actually, and maybe his whole body. Jesse doesn't answer him. "If I’m just a fuck buddy to you," Louis spits, collecting his jacket and keys, "then you can fuck yourself, I’m out of here."

 

Jesse grabs his wrist before Louis can step two feet. Louis' spark of hope lights for a second, thinking Jesse will apologize and kiss him better.

 

"You’re not going anywhere," Jesse growls darkly.

 

Louis feels fear in his heart for the first time since he's known Jesse. The boy's eyes are darker brown than he's even seen, the veins in his neck are clearly visible, and his face - it makes Louis stutter. "I – I’m going home."

 

The initial sting of Jesse’s hand against his cheek doesn't register for a few seconds, until he hits the ground. Louis gasps out a sob, bringing a hand up to cup his left cheek. He stares up at Jesse with the pain of the slap replaying in his mind like a broken vinyl record. Jesse breathes hard above him, his eyes big and showing the crazy in his soul. Louis' never feared more for his life then at this moment.

 

"I-" Louis' arm is harshly tugged up, and he whimpers as Jesse pulls until his arm feels like it's going to rip off.

 

Jesse fucks Louis against the wall that night, with Louis screaming for him to stop.

 

-

 

After that incident, Louis never has the courage to look Jesse in the eye; afraid he'll say something to get him angry. Jesse acts like his normal self in school, pretending as if he's never hit Louis. Louis cowers away from guys who try to talk to him, or show him any type of attention. He goes home with Jesse everyday, to be fucked somewhere in his ratty basement, only to be thrown out before Jesse’s parents get home.

 

Sophia notices his change of behavior a week after the first slap. They’re having a sleepover when she finally questions Louis on why he's glued to his phone more than usual. He doesn't tell her about Jesse _hitting_ him, but tells of how Jesse fucked him without his consent. Sophia blew up, attempting to steal Louis' phone to call Jesse herself to tell him off, but he reassures her it was one time and he was drunk.

 

He hated lying about it, but he won't tell anyone. He believes he can change Jesse, because Louis _has_ seen the sweet caring side of the boy, he's just a little messed up in the head.

 

-

 

Louis goes through a month of Jesse treating him like a sex doll - literally. He’s thrown around, hit when he does something wrong, called horrible degrading names and now is on a diet to lose weight for Jesse. The senior boy said he was getting too fat, and summer vacation was a month away, meaning Louis needed to be his hot summer babe. (When Jesse first told Louis that, he thought Jesse would finish that sentence with "boyfriend". He's not giving up.)

 

At the month mark, Louis is physically exhausted. Jesse sees this, picks up on it when Louis doesn't bother fighting back anymore when he's being rough.

 

Louis holds strong to the idea that he's the only boy who gets Jesse. But the boy has grown tired of him, little does he know, and now cheats on Louis with random boys from school. Most of the slags snicker at Louis in the hallway, and the junior boy has no clue why.

 

He tries confronting Jesse about it but it never works.

 

"Jesse I need to talk to you-" Jesse lays him down on his couch, spreading his legs. His lips are on his; smothering Louis' words he spent all night trying to come up with. "Jesse-" the said boy pulls off his shirt, and Louis' words waver. "Jesse," it comes out a weak whisper, and he can't fight anymore. He gives up and lets Jesse take advantage of him once more.

 

Sophia is the one to tell him that Jesse was snogging Alan Bethel behind the bleachers at lunch. She expects Louis to flip out, finally end things with Jesse, but Louis' eyes only dimmer.

 

She doesn't know that dim was the last shred of hope of Louis and Jesse draining from him. He tells Sophia he can't get mad at someone he's not _dating_. It still stings. He did all of this for Jesse to realize he wants Louis as his boyfriend, but the boy is graduating and leaving Louis.

         

-

 

The day that Jesse graduates, Louis decides he's going to say his _last_ goodbye to Jesse.

 

He doesn't want any sex, or kissing, just talking. Jesse is able to do that most of the time, when he's sane and calm.

 

Jesse comes to Louis' work when he's about to get off. He doesn't give a mind to the other people in the café, yelling "Hey slut!" as he walks in. _Slut_ has never been used out of the bedroom, and Jesse just openly called him a slut in front of everyone he works with. Just like the cheery on top, Jesse leans over the counter to lick into Louis' mouth sloppily and greedily. Two months ago, Louis might've pushed him away and told him to leave. But he doesn't dare, wanting to keep Jesse in a good mood.

 

"You’re coming to my house tonight."

 

Everything Jesse says these days are commands. He never asks Louis if he _wants_ to do or go anywhere, it's automatically decided for him.

 

"I’ll meet you by your car," Louis whispers, mumbling because he feels guilty of what he has planned. Jesse is a messed up kid that needs help, and Louis leaving him will do gods knows what to him. Maybe he shouldn't tonight - he'll wait until next week.

 

(Louis' sick, twisted mind is what haunts him at night.)

 

When he goes out to Jesse’s car, he's pushed against the passenger door to be snogged. Louis lets him (why wouldn't he) and as usual leaves his hands at his sides.

 

"I fucked your friend Sophia," Jesse states casually, trailing his lips down Louis' neck. The boy freezes underneath him. "But don't tell her I told you, I just thought I’d let you know. You’re okay with that, right?"

 

That fucking fake ass _bitch_.

 

Louis' rubber band snaps.

 

"Fuck you!" Louis uses all his strength to push Jesse off of him, which surprisingly makes him stumble back a few feet. "Fuck you you two timing douche bag! I’m fucking done with you!" Jesse gets up, letting Louis yell. He takes Louis' hand, trying to look gentle in public. Louis throws all that out the window, continuing to loudly curse Jesse off as the backseat door closes.

 

When they're safe behind the tinted windows, Jesse punches Louis in the face, stomach, then in the face again. Louis openly cries as he does, used to the pain, but mentally and physically dying to get out of this thing with Jesse.

                                 

Jesse calls him a "fucking slut" and "bitch you should fucking know your place" and "you’re fucking worthless!"

 

That’s the last time Jesse fucks Louis.

 

In fact that's the last time Louis ever sees the boy.

 

He begs Jay to move to Cheshire.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i didn't go into detail for the fact that this chapter is just an insight into louis' past.


	26. chapter xxii .iii

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Aftermath of Wylde's

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this has been rewritten, and i actually quite love how it turned out (: hope you do too x

It’s Friday night, and Louis’s sat on Tiffany’s roof, staring out to the treetops of her neighborhood. Which isn't necessarily the _safest_ thing to be doing at a time of inner turmoil but Louis doesn't care. Well, he does care, about one person, which is why he's rethinking everything over.

 

The weather forecast called for a cold breeze to be sliding in, very cold breeze, but Louis just wraps his jacket around himself tighter. The red crop top he supports underneath does nothing to help.

 

Harry has been his focal point for the month they've been dating. Close to an official month, actually, two days from now Louis believes Harry has something planned for their anniversary. _Two days before their anniversary_  and Louis is out at a club without him.

 

Harry has done absolutely nothing wrong. Even as Louis tries to reason with himself that Harry never lets him go anywhere without him – all the blame still falls on Louis’ shoulders. Harry is a perfect boyfriend - caring, understanding, fit, smart - why does it bring tears to Louis' face? He wipes his eyes with his jacket sleeve, thinking of how Harry’s life is perfect. God, why is he comparing himself again? _That's_ the problem with Louis. He’s filled his mind with this fake idealism of being the flawless boyfriend.

 

A boyfriend, or girlfriend even, is someone who one could share anything with, someone who might not love the same things as you but that's what makes your relationship unique, someone who you could be honest with and they'd do the best they can to understand... someone whom Louis could be honest with about the issues he has.

 

He’s a fucked up kid - on every aspect of the term "fucked up", you could find something in Louis' life that relates back to it. There’s no one he can blame all his problems on except for himself. He’s let guys use his body and let everyone stomp over him. He has this, this "shell" covering his emotions. Every now and then, he explodes on a single person that doesn't deserve it. This past week has been an example of this.

 

Jay, the sweet-hearted person she is, has been shut out of Louis' life. Last year, Louis told her everything and hung out with her more than needed. He babysat the twins and helped Jay in all ways possible. He chose to yell at her for he comment about Trevor, which really didn't mean anything. She was just pointing out the obvious, which made Louis upset because she was _right_. Louis will always crave attention. He thought Harry would be all the attention he needs, because hello anyone would kill to have Harry Styles look at them like he does at Louis, but it's not. He needs to say sorry to Jay, sit down with her and have a cup of tea, maybe discuss college like she craves.

 

The thought of Harry’s attention not being enough for him scratches at the back of his brain. Is Louis that much of a whore that he thinks that or is what he's going through normal?

 

“Louis!” The boy peers down, spotting Tiffany waving at him. He has to shake his mind of his thoughts to focus on what she’s saying. “I know you’re like, sad or whatever, but I ordered pizza?”

 

He smiles at his friend’s attempt to make him feel better, and ultimately nods. Being careful of the rain patches still covering the roof surface from yesterday’s shower, he manages to slide down to her balcony. The food somewhat clears his growing head ache from the Fireball shooters but he’s still itching to talk to Harry, explain what happened tonight – explain everything, really. But he knows he’s not ready for that whole conversation yet.

 

After the three friends left Wylde’s, Eleanor drove them to Tiffany’s for a well-deserved sleepover. Louis cried the whole way back, thinking about how Harry might react. He admitted to Tiffany he was so scared, scared that Harry might snap. She questioned what he meant, but he just shook his head and whispered 'just… just forget it.'

 

He hasn’t texted Harry since the incident. That was an hour and half ago, now the boy must be worried – Louis is not the one to go to bed at 11 on a Friday night.

 

“Guys,” Louis whines, throwing the half eaten pizza in the box with the other slices, “I don’t know what to tell Harry.”

 

Tiffany looks up at him from where she’s laying on the floor, “Just _don’t_ tell him, like, he doesn’t know what happened.”

 

“But what if someone from school saw us there?”

 

“No one will tell him,” Tiffany reassures, “I’ll keep my mouth shut, you will too won’t you El?” the blonde tips her head to the side.

 

Eleanor bites her lip, flicking her eyes between her phone and Louis, “Well…”

 

“You _told_ him?!” Louis shouts, automatically assuming the worse based on her face.

 

“No!” she quickly disagrees, “No, I would never, but um –“ she’s cut off by a knock on Tiffany’s window.

 

Which is, weird, because who would be coming over?

 

“Is that Tony?” Tiffany frantically whispers, snatching her hairbrush from her nightstand and combing her hair, “he usually texts me before he comes over!”

 

“You’re still talking to him?” Louis wonders aloud as she walks to her window. She’s lucky her bedroom is on the first floor.

 

“Well, not really,” she admits, “but I never say no to friends with benefits,” she winks in his direction. With one pull, she moves the curtains to one side, revealing Harry. Louis jumps up from the floor, in shock. Careful to unlock the window, she slides it up to let the breeze slide in. Goosebumps rise on Louis’ limbs, for more than one reason.

 

“How could you?” is Harrys first thing he says as the window fully opens. The two girls retreat to the corner.

 

"How did you even know I was here?" Louis starts to shake in fear.

 

"Eleanor’s snapchat story,” Harry answers, ducking his head and fully stepping into Tiffany’s room. Louis sends a side glance to Eleanor, who continues to stare determinedly at her phone. "I saw you and asked Eleanor to come over.”

 

“Harry –“

 

“I  _trusted_ you, that’s the thing.”

 

“Guys,” Tiffany awkwardly interjects, “we can leave if you want –“

 

“Please,” Louis whispers, not looking directly at Harry, instead he has his arms wrapped around his stomach with his head tipped down to hide his face. One thing he’s learned about himself tonight – Fireball and emotions do _not_ mix well.

 

The two girls leave the room, and Louis and Harry are left standing opposite to one another. Harry’s silently fuming in front of the smaller boy. Louis jumps straight into an apology, knowing Harry has already been told one way or another about what happened at Wylde’s. “I didn’t _mean it_ please –“

 

“Don't fucking _please_ me,” he growls.

 

“I –“

 

“You _lied to me_!’

 

“I didn’t think it would be that big of a deal!” Louis tries to take a step forward but Harry backs up further against the wall.

 

“You said you were at the movies and instead you were grinding on some random guy, how is that not a big deal?”

 

“I didn’t _grind_ with him! He came on to me!”

 

Harry rolls his eyes, crossing his arms, “sure.”

 

“It's true!” Louis defends himself, “how dare you fucking think I would do that on purpose!”

 

“Oh don’t try to turn this around and make you look like the victim,” Harry spits.

 

“I’m not!” Louis cries, “for fuck’s sake you don’t even wanna hear my side of the story!”

 

“Because I’ve heard enough.”

 

Louis’ silent for a moment, while Harry doesn’t even have the courage to look him in the eye. “What?”

 

“You heard me.” It’s like a cold slap to the face.

 

“What does that mean?” there’s a hint of desperation on the tip of Louis’ tongue.

 

“It means until you figure out what you want –“

 

“ _No_ ,” Louis finally steps across the room, gripping Harry’s arm helplessly, fully crying now because this can’t be happening, “ _please_ , Harry it wasn’t my fault.”

 

Harry lets the boy grip his arm as if for dear life. “Did you have a choice to not go to Wyldes?

 

“Are you seriously breaking up with me?” Louis breathes out, confused and becoming angry. He lets go of Harry’s arm. “ _Over this_?”

 

“I don’t know how you thought I would respond, really.”

 

“Can we at least _talk_ first?”

 

“We're talking right now.”

 

“That’s not what I mean you bastard! I thought you loved…” Louis trails off, the words caught in his throat. It burns his lungs to try and say it.

 

“What?” Harry questions, now intrigued.

 

“Nothing. Obviously I was wrong,” but his voice cracks at the end. _Don’t cry, Louis._

 

Harry reads his mind, unfortunately. “You thought I loved you? Was that it?”

 

He takes a deep breath, wiping his eyes even though the lack of tears, “yeah,” he answers harshly, “yeah, it was.”

 

“Well guess fucking what Louis?” Harry gets up in his face, but Louis doesn’t feel threatened. He feels like he’s been beaten to the ground and there’s absolutely nothing else that could hurt him now that – “I do love you.”

 

“You're currently _breaking up with me Harry_ , in case you forgot –“ Louis stops mid-sentence, replying Harry’s response. He opens and closes his mouth, “Wait,” he pauses, “what did you just say?”

 

Harry, however, ignores him, “you’re not ready for a serious relationship.”

 

“Yes I am,” Louis’s quick to defend himself. ‘ _I do love you’_ plays in his mind like a broken record.

 

“No –“

 

“I’m ready for us! I’m ready for us, I just fucking don’t know how to handle it! I’m sorry I messed up!” Louis shouts.

 

_I do love you._

 

Harry looks at him, scanning his eyes over his entire face. It makes Louis feel insecure. “Then say you love me,” he finally speaks. He’s staring into Louis’ blue eyes, his own green ones sparkling.

 

“I’m not saying that right now Harry,” Louis chooses to look away, at Tiffany’s wall, “That’s a moment I wanna remember… not now.”

 

“Do you even care about me?”

 

_I do love you._

 

“How could you say that?” Louis looks back at him, offended, “you’re the only thing that’s been on my mind for months.”

 

“Then why didn’t you just tell me about Wylde’s?”

 

“I wasn’t thinking,” he mumbles truthfully.

 

“Obviously,” Harry retorts.

 

“Stop being a smart ass for two seconds,” he rolls his eyes, deep in his thoughts.

 

It’s Harry’s turn to roll his eyes, “there we go with the fucking attitude again.”

 

The smaller boy’s mouth falls open, “ _when_ do I give you an attitude?

 

He’s persistent. “Just tell me why you didn’t tell me about Wylde’s.”

 

“I did!”

 

“You’re not telling me something. Louis c’mon I know when you’re hiding something. You wanna talk? Talk.”

 

“No.”

 

“Why aren’t you _fighting for us_?” now Harry’s tone is laced with a hint of desperation.

 

_I do love you._

 

“If I tell you the reason you'll fucking probably think I’m a slut even more,” Louis whispers, refusing to meet Harry’s eyes.

 

“I never said you were a slut.”

 

Louis laughs bitterly, “You’re thinking it, I bet.”

 

“I swear I’m not,” and Louis really wants to believe Harry, but he can’t.

 

“Listen I don’t give a fuck if you are, ‘cause that’s not the only time a fucking guy that 'loved me' called me a slut," Louis’ eyes widen. What did he just say? _Fuck_.

 

“What?” Harry’s eyes furrow together, like he’s putting the puzzle pieces together, “What other guy?”

 

He answers too quick and sharp, “Nothing.”

 

“What other guy?” Harry asks again, “do I -?”

 

“ _No_ Harry you don’t know him. I’m not cheating on you, stop thinking so lowly of me.”

 

“I’m trying not to but you’re not giving me _any_ answers so what else am I suppose to go off of?”

 

“Well how about the fact we've been together for almost a month and I haven’t done _anything_ to make you suspicious so I go out for one night without you and suddenly I’m the criminal of the year? Can I not even hang out with anyone without you suspecting I’m doing something?”

 

“You can hang out with who ever you want and you know that. I never said you couldn’t.”

 

“Then what’s wrong with going with Tiff and Eleanor?”

 

“Because you _lied_ about it! And you wont even tell me why you lied!”

 

“People make mistakes!”

 

Harry groans, because Louis’s being a pain. “Yeah, I get that, but I’m about ready to leave and end us but you’re not even willing to explain just to save us!”

 

_I do love you._

Harry wants to break up with him because he thinks Louis will never love him back.

When this dawns on Louis, he retreats back into his words. Harry fucking admitted he loved him, and Louis’s yelling at him like it didn’t affect him.

 

“I don’t want to lose you.”

 

Louis’s startled back into reality, and Harry’s hovering right in front of him. Then his hands are cradled by warmth, and he looks down to see Harry’s hands enveloping his. Their hands are like two peas in a pod, like the Fox and the Hound, like Oreos and milk – they’re perfect together. They’re supposed to be together.

 

“I don’t either,” Louis whispers, smoothing his thumb across Harry’s upper hand, “I’m sorry.”

 

“Well at least you apologized,” Harry murmurs, thinking Louis wouldn’t hear him.

 

But of course Louis hears him, “I thought I already apologized.”

 

“No. I was waiting for that, one, and two, an explanation. You’re saying all about how I’m not hearing your side and I’m willing to listen -”

 

“I... I’m messed up,” Louis admits, with his words quivering.

 

“You told me that already –“

 

“No. No Harry I’m a fucking attention seeking whore. I went to Wylde’s ‘cause I guess I thought I needed more attention. I tried to blame Tiffany for throwing a slutty outfit at me but I didn’t say anything. I let her dress me up like a slut. But when the guy touched me it _burned_. I like you so much Harry, and I didn’t realize it until it was too late and I ran to the bathroom. I cried - no fucking _sobbed_ because I realized you changed my life in so many ways. Harry, I don’t know what love fucking feels like. I never got the attention I wanted from a guy, then I moved here and you –“ Louis breaks off crying “if you wanna stop seeing me after this then fine. Go ahead. I’ll understand –“

 

Harry’s lips are on his, smothering the words that were tumbling out of his mouth. His fingers are like hot against cold, as they grip Louis’ hips hard, harder than ever before. It makes him feel submissive – protected, even. Harry’s hands were always massive compared to Louis’, his whole body is as a matter of fact.

 

Harry moves his lips to Louis’ neck bites down at the junction of his collarbones, making him hiss, as his back hits against the bed suddenly. It knocks the breath out of Louis, but then Harry’s climbing on top of his thighs, not giving him time to react before his lips are smothered. Harry’s lips press against his own harshly, as if trying to make Louis whimper, in which in that case he succeeds. Louis turns his head, the pain verses pleasure contrast overwhelming his senses, but Harry brushes his lips along his jaw and continues biting menacingly at his neck. His hips jump up into Harry’s as his hair is violently pulled, causing his head to snap up from it’s turned position, to grant access for Harry to attack his lips once again. Starting as small rotations, Louis whines when Harry starts to circle his hips down on the smaller boy’s crotch, soon escalating into intense rolls that spike pleasure to his inner core.

 

It hurts even then, due to the fact Harry’s wearing jeans and Louis is only in thin pajama bottoms he borrowed from Tiffany. The zipper nips at his sensitive semi, causing tiny whines and whimpers to crawl up to his throat, only to be oppressed by Harry’s forceful lips. Harry’s hands find their way up his body to pull at his white night shirt. Louis arches his back to the ceiling, letting the piece of clothing slide up. Harry’s hands are on his chest in an instant, smoothing across his shoulders, down his arms, over his hips, and up his curves. The touch sends shivers through Louis’ body, because Harry’s mapping out his body like he has _plans_. Like he wants to lay Louis’ body out, find his weaknesses, find his strengths, find his pleasure points – another shiver runs up his spine.

 

Harry doesn’t quit the constant pressure to his lips, somewhat changing the angle to shove his tongue deeper, but now not as driven. His fingers slide up and down his curves, feeling the soft skin and digging his nails into Louis’ side. He uses his knees to spread Louis’ legs, inviting Harry to slot between his sinfully toned thighs, which allow their cocks to line up teasingly. Louis whines, about to speak up, but Harry connects their lips in an even more passionate manner. Harry takes one of his hands, gripping Louis’ wrists and leading them to lie on his back, encouraging Louis to scratch his nails and leave marks. Dark, angry red marks, as Harry wants. Louis follows suit at that silent request when Harry rolls his hips excruciatingly down onto Louis’ now hard cock, letting out a breathless moan as he does so.

 

Next, Harry’s hands glide down Louis’ body, coming to the top of his bottoms. He closes his fingers around the top of his briefs, yanking Louis’ entire bottom half of clothing down to his thighs in one go. Louis gasps, the cold air of his room hitting his cock combined with the warmth of Harry’s body hovering him. Harry roughly slides the bottoms down to Louis’ ankles, coming up to sit on his toes to pull everything from the boy’ legs. Louis’ legs fall open helplessly afterwards, his now fully exposed body shining golden against his white sheets. Harry growls at the site, diving in to assault Louis’ mouth with his tongue, prying open his lips while Louis’ hands resume their position on his lower back. 

 

“Please,” is all Louis needs to moan, before Harry hastily sits back up to get his jeans off. He quickly pops the buttons undone, and then throws his shirt off to the side. He nearly rips his jeans from trying to pull them off his legs hurriedly.

 

-

 

“God you’re so fucking tight,” Harry grips his hand on one of Louis’ arse cheeks, squeezing and bruising, controlling Louis’ bounces on his cock. Louis whines from above him, nipping at Harry’s ear. His thighs start to pick up the pace, riding Harry’s cock in earnest, earning smacks to his arse whenever he clenches around the boy.

 

Louis moans out in high pitched mewls, extending his left hand out to leverage him on the bed. His right hand tangles his Harry’s curls, holding tightly as he moves his hips faster. He buries his face in Harry’s neck, breathing erratically, trying to find the angle where whenever he rides down on to Harry’s cock that he can hit his prostate.

 

When he finds it, he whines especially loud, shuddering to a stop for a second before he continues. His thighs begin to burn from the relentless movement. His abs constrict in pleasure, and with every rock Harry’s cock nudges that same spot inside him.

 

Harry can feel Louis’ arse cheeks jiggle from his bounces, as he continues to feel his hands all along the boy’s lower half. He takes extra time to feel Louis’ arse, going in and out between his cheeks, brushing his fingers along the swollen rim that greedily takes his cock. Then he skims over Louis’ thighs, feels them working, clenching and releasing to ride him. He travels back up to Louis’ back, obsessed with his curves, and loving the thin layer of shine that starts to build on his skin. He’s sweating because of _Harry_ , because of _his_ cock he’s bouncing on. Not anyone else's.

 

“Oh, oh, _fuck_ , oh,” Louis can’t control the endless amounts babble that spit from this mouth, and with each trust of Harry’s cock against his spot he loses his breath. It ends with him being a complete mess, voice and all.

 

“Fucking talk to me,” Harry growls into his ear, clawing his nails down Louis’ back, making the boy shudder and temporarily forget how to breathe. He picks it back up again, however, but just with a gentle roll of his arse with Harry’s cock still in him.

 

“You like me riding your big fat cock, yeah?” Louis almost screams when Harry plants his feet flat on the bed and begins to drive into him along with his roll of hips, " _Fuck_ that feels so good, baby. Give it to me, c’mon,” Louis stops his riding, giving Harry access to drive into his hole.

 

“Spread your legs wider,” Harry commands, using his hands to take Louis’ knees and spread them into a spilt. Louis lets out a silent scream at the initial sting, but quickly adjusts his footing. He looks beautiful like this, completely spread out over Harry’s cock, getting fucked from behind, with his head thrown back in pure ecstasy.

 

“You love fucking me, don’t you?” Louis pants from above him, “love marking me, making me yours, _shit,”_ the boy gasps sharp, reaching his climax with ever brutal snap of Harry’s hips. He fucking _loves_ it. He loves Harry sudden burst of dominance.

 

Harry starts panting beneath him, thrusts speeding up, “Fucking love it, _fuck_ , just like that yeah, fuck your pussy down on my cock.”

 

“ _Fuck_ ,” Louis screams, knowing his voice cracks with it, and his body convulses. He shakes with how hard his orgasm hits him, cumming untouched onto Harry’s stomach. He spurts all along the boy’s abs, up to his pecks, even some hitting his collarbones. His face scrunches beautifully, eyebrows furrowed, lips falling open in a wide O. Once the shocks of pleasure run down to his toes, he brings his pointer finger up to his mouth to bite down, whining at the oversensitivity of Harry’s cock continuing to plunge into his arse.

 

Harry’s huge hands snake around his hips and quickly flip their positions, flipping Louis to lay on his back. He’s spread out again, now whining like a hurt animal from the excruciating oversensitivity. Harry fucks his hips into him, knocking the headboard into the wall like every other cliché sex scene. Louis scraps his fingernails down his back, making Harry lowly growl into his ear. They both love pain in one form or another.

 

The boy chases his climax, grabbing Louis’ thigh to hitch over his shoulder to continue to drive into him. Louis’ a sweating, panting mess by this point. He can’t form proper words of praise or even whines for Harry to slow down. All he can do is make helpless little whimpers, and soon enough, he’s starting to grow hard. His face scrunches up, praying he has some self control to stop his growing hard on, but Harry’s dirty whispers along with his ruthless thrusts only encourage him on.

 

“Fuck, getting hard for me again already?” Harry slows down his thrusts to talk, to let Louis have a second to actually catch his breath, but as soon as he hears a cry of pleasure in response, he’s snapping his hips once more, “Bet the guy at the club wouldn’t fuck you as good as me.”

 

“Don’t,” Louis gasps, digging his fingers into Harry’s shoulder blades. It’s the first coherent word he’s spoken in the past few minutes, and it hangs in the air after. He knows what he did was wrong, he doesn’t need a reminder when his boyfriend’s cock is up his arse.

 

Harry looks into Louis’ eyes as he’s about to cum, searching for something that Louis can’t pinpoint. Louis breaks eye contact, however, when he squeezes his eyes shut and mewls with his second orgasm, painfully rippling through his body. Another string sprays out onto his own chest, that paints his sun kissed skin. Harry bends his head down and licks the boy’s cum, loving how Louis’ stomach clenches with the touch.

 

Louis lets his body go completely lax under Harry, willing no energy. Harry groans at how wrecked the smaller boy looks, at how Louis’ hole clenches with a vise grip around his cock, and bites hard down at Louis’ neck as he cums into the condom. Louis can only weakly moan as Harry slips out of him.

 

Harry flops next to Louis on the bed, both of the boys panting, trying to regain their breath. The first thing Harry does is tie the condom and find a trash to throw it out in – because after all this is Tiffany’s house and he doesn’t know where anything is. He really hopes Tiffany’s parents aren’t in the next room over and just heard all of that.

 

As he comes back from the bathroom, he hears crying from where Louis’ lying on the bed. Harry rushes back, going up to the bed to see his boy crawled up a ball with tears streaming down his face. “Baby,” he slips his hands underneath Louis’ legs and cradles his face to his chest, “please tell me I didn’t hurt you, I’m so fucking sorry I didn’t –“

 

Harry’s nervous babbling is cut off with Louis whispering, “I – I thought you left.” Louis wipes his tears with his thumb, looking so vulnerable and small.

 

“I wouldn’t leave you after that,” Harry promises, kissing the boy’s lips to prove his point, “I fucking love you Louis, don’t ever think I would ever leave you.”

 

“You’re – what?” the boy blinks up at him, “that wasn’t just… but after what I did I thought you –“

 

“Lou you _didn’t_ cheat, some guy tried to get with you and you were drunk and still _pushed him off_. That’s so fucking amazing. You called me right afterward and did the right thing okay?” Harry kisses his cheeks where his tears are starting to dry, “You’re a natural flirt, babe, that’s not going anyway overnight whether you think it will or not. The fact you _cried_ about, for God’s sake, Louis that shows you really care about us. As long as you’re willing to try and change is more than okay with me. I’ll support you through this, no matter what. I have my own issues too, and that’s what makes us perfect for each other.” He starts laughing, with his own tears in his eyes, “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to get all mushy I just – I love you.”

 

“ _Harry_ ,” Louis cries, but this time not from self hatred, but because the boy in front of him is _in love with him_.

 

In _love_ , with _him_.

 

He wraps his arms around the boy’s neck, with Harry’s arms wrapping around his waist, and he cries even harder.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> f e e d b a c k is entirely appreciated !!!! i love you all !!!! im eating an apple !!! 
> 
> talk to mee too if you wannttt !!
> 
> bravolarry.tumblr.com  
> ask.fm/bravolarry  
> twitter.com/bawfth !  
> kik; bravolarry


	27. chapter xxiii

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Louis is starting to realize Harry's something special

Louis was kicked to the guest room and Harry was forced to leave after Tiffany found out what he and Harry did in her bed. “ _You bastards got cum on my_ pillow _, seriously?!”_

 

He asks Harry to meet him at a coffee shop in town the next morning. Sipping on his chai tea, he wonders how on earth he's suppose to form his thoughts into words that don't scare Harry away.

 

As he sits at the shop, he regrets how he asked the boy to come here with a 'we need to talk'. Harry might be thinking the 'talk' that ends a relationship, but that's far from what Louis wants to do. In fact, he wants to build their relationship for the better.

 

The people surrounding him mull about their day, downing drinks and/or on a laptop. The baristas all look miserable, rushing around to fill orders and not have customers yell at them. Louis misses being behind the counter at his old coffee shop.

 

Harry comes into the shop at that moment, shivering a bit from the freezing rain outside. He shakes his head back and forth, smoothing his now dampened curls to the side to look up. When he spots Louis, he smiles, and the smaller boy smiles back shyly. His feet are rubbing together anxiously under the table, but Harry doesn't seem to notice his nervousness when he comes over to kiss Louis square on the lips.

 

"Hi baby," Harry takes a seat on the stool across from Louis, slipping his jacket off his wide shoulders. The sweater he has underneath is one of Louis' favorite - simple gray knit with black lining. It makes Louis think of Harry’s back cottage, how warm and welcoming it is - how the two boys would cuddle under a blanket after school and talk about their day.

 

Louis' mind is drifting off topic so much lately.

 

"Hello?" there's a hand that waves in front of Louis' face, and he giggles when he realizes he never answered Harry’s greeting. Harry chuckles with him.

 

"Sorry, I zoned out," Louis flips his hair.

 

"What’s on your mind?"

 

"That’s... why I wanted to talk," Louis expression drops, and he sits up so his body isn’t leaning towards Harry as much. The boy notices this, and frowns.

 

But he wipes away the worry on his face, because Harry can't think the worse. He bites his lip instead, "what about?"

 

Louis takes a sip of his tea, and this is a really cliché way to hold off what he wants to say but oh well. He still doesn't know how to phrase his word, "last night, was… _amazing_ ," he slips his fingers through the holes of Harry’s hand, “I, like, I’ve never felt so close to you. But, like, you were just about ready to break up with me, and I, I just wanted to… I really thought we were done for a minute. Like, is that how you’re gonna react about every rumor you hear about me?”

 

Harry shakes his head no with a now serious expression, “I’m sorry – I was never going to follow through with it. I usually don’t react like that, I just came back from the gym ‘cause you were ignoring me and I needed to burn off some steam and Eleanor texted me about what happened and I – I’m so sorry. And I just – I don’t know, I wanted to see if you would fight for us.”

 

"I did, and I always will Haz,” Louis bites his lip, "It just scared me, and I wanted to tell you. But thanks for, you know, at least apologizing. I’m sorry again for what I did and it won’t happen again.” Harry kisses his knuckles just the way Louis loves him to, and he feels a bit lighter. However there’s still a question that haunts his mind, “listen, okay, I - when you said you loved me -"

 

“I meant it. Don’t think I’m lying, yeah? I’ve loved you since the first moment I saw you, I’m pretty sure. I just didn’t know how to deal with it. But I do love you, Louis.”

 

It hits Louis just like last night – like a refreshing splash of water on a hot summer day.

 

“I wish I could say it back,” Louis whispers, eyes closed and head tipped down, “but one day I will, okay? I’m just not ready for that word yet.”

 

“That’s totally fine,” Harry squeezes his tiny hands, “whenever you’re comfortable. I’ll wait.”

 

Louis nods; thanking his luck that Harry understands.

 

"So tonight I -"

 

"Louis I need to -"

 

Both boys laugh for starting at the same time.

 

"You first," Louis supplies, loving the feeling of Harry’s thumb smoothing over the top of his hand.

 

"I need to tell you something so we’re on equal grounds," Harry licks his bottom lip, "I talked to Caroline, about what she did."

 

Louis narrows his eyes, but wills himself not to get upset, "when?"

 

"Tuesday."

 

His eyebrows crawl up his forehead, "Why would you -"

 

"I just wanted to say something about the video. I told her that was a bitch move and like, we talked for a few hours and just - _talked_."

 

"What do you mean _talk_?"

 

"Listen," Harry breaths, "I need to tell you what happened between me and her," Louis stays quiet, "Caroline, like, I used to like her a lot but I never _loved_ her, you know? We were together for more than a year and now our friendship to me is fucked up... like, I was depressed for about 2 and half years right before high school. The only person I’ve ever told that was her and my family. My parents were never home and I felt like a dad at 14 'cause I had to take care of Oliver and Gemma. She helped me a lot with that, and she'd get on my nerves a bit sometimes but that’s also because of me overreacting or overthinking and making myself look like an idiot – I’m still like that today.”

 

Louis blinks, stunned. Niall and Zayn have been Harry’s best friends since forever, and they don’t know of Harry’s depression? "Are you - I mean - was it like, diagnosed depression?”

 

"No," Harry shook his head.

 

"Okay, but Harry don't ever think you’re an idiot, like everyone has problems. If she was there for you then I’m glad."

 

"I hate how I’d blow up on her for the stupidest things, like last night," Harry looks down, "and I’d immediately regret and hate myself for it. But I broke up with her when she stopped caring and focused everything around herself. Then I met you and… I just feel like I don't need help anymore. You make me so happy," Harry says sincerely, "I haven't even thought about Caroline or anyone else but you. That’s why I’m a bit over protective."

 

"Well, like, at least now I understand why," Louis half mumbles, "don’t ever think you'll lose me okay? Like, I get that you'll get angry sometimes, I’ll just try to calm you down and help you figure it out. I’m sorry to steer away from that, but what did Caroline say, about the video?"

 

"She didn't say sorry, but Louis," Harry squeezes his eyes shut for a moment, "what you said to her on Monday was not necessary."

 

"Excuse me?" Louis breathes out, "There was a video posted of me giving you a handie, I’m _sorry_ I was a bit pissed off, but that’s private shit. Just because she helped you in the past doesn't mean she can treat me like that -"

 

"I know," Harry interrupts him, "I know, I’m not saying you were _wrong_ but it doesn't hurt to be the bigger person and brush it off."

 

Louis crosses his arms over his chest, "why are you taking her side on this?"

 

Harry looks at him weirdly, "I’ll never take her side, don't say that."

 

"Then I can say whatever I want to her after she posted that."

 

"I’m not fighting with you over this okay?" Harry scans his eyes over Louis' face, "both of you could've handled it differently."

 

"Yeah really?" Louis sarcastically answers, "how about you get called a fucking slut over hundred times by people you don't even know, Harry. I don't care what I said to Caroline, she deserved every word. _You’re a slut_ , fucking _slut_ , who let this _slut_ into Cheshire -" he closes his eyes and breathes. _Learn how to breathe_ , _Louis, it could only help you_. "Never mind."

 

"No," Harry leans forward on his elbows, "tell me. I know you want to tell me something."

 

 _Jesse_.

 

"No," Louis decides, "I promise I’ll tell you, one day. Please not now. We have an expo today, and um, something else after. If you’re up for it, I mean," he discreetly flips his hair and wipes his eyes at the same time.

 

“What is it?”

 

“Tonight, my dad is in town for a business meeting or whatever, and my mom was wondering if you wanted to go to dinner. Like, to introduce you to both my parents while my dad is actually here,” Louis shrugs his shoulders, “You don’t have to with my dad, I mean, he’s a fucking douche bag when he wants to be but I think it’d be better for you to meet him now so later on it’s not as big as a surprise.”

 

Harry smiles, “he sounds like a joy.”

 

“Well I _did_ inherit half my genes from him so I guess he couldn’t be that bad.”

 

The captain laughs, looking down at his phone for the time, “I’d love to, what time would it be?”

 

“Around nine after we get back from the expo,” Louis sips at his tea, “It’d be late but we could just get something light to eat.”

 

“I’m not on a diet, Lou,” Harry laughs, “and you shouldn’t be either. But yeah, or we could get dessert, whatever works.”

 

-

 

“You should get a piercing.” Louis brings a finger up to swipe at Harry’s soft bottom lip, looking at his mouth with interest, “like, a hoop or something. Diamond – no, gold – maybe with some red jewel, wait, you’re favorite color is blue right? So like, blue and diamond studded - that’d be so fucking hot.”  


Harry laughs, managing to blow smoke in the boy’s face as he does so. Louis doesn’t flinch, instead he just opens his mouth to suck the excess. There’s a good layer of smoke floating around the room by now, being the two boys have been smoking a hookah for the past hour. Harry he had this sick bejeweled hookah with pure black hose that looked so cool Louis _had_ to try it. Sure, his expo is later that night but it’s a Saturday, the cheer officials would understand – if they even asked, that is. Louis bets they’re not even thinking about what his life is like outside of cheer, and it should stay that way. He never liked anyone in his business.

 

“I wanna get a tattoo,” Harry picks up his arm from where it’s wrapped around Louis’ shoulders, “actually I want a sleeve but near the bones hurt like a bitch so I might just stick to my under arm for right now.”

 

“You should get my face tattooed on… I don’t know, something,” Louis giggles, sitting up to take another hit.

 

His shirt rides up, which gives Harry an amazing sneak peek of his tanned lower back. Harry takes the opportunity to slide his hand over the skin, admiring Louis’ body. He’s got one hell of a body, at that. Even without looking at Louis’ face, he could fall for just getting a glimpse of his backside, from his narrow shoulders to his full hips.

 

Smoking a hookah sounds like that annoying kid at a restaurant that blows into his water to make bubbles, but obviously with a totally different affect. Louis sucks at the mouth tip, blowing out smoke with a delighted sigh.

 

“I want a tattoo on my lower back,” Louis notes, staring thoughtfully at the bowl, “like an Indian pattern – or maybe that tattoo from We’re the Millers,” he laughs, twisting to look back at Harry who he catches staring at his bum, “ _Boner Garage_ – oh my god,” he can’t help but laugh louder, “imagine at cheer me coming out with that, Tiffany would flip shit.”

 

“You want a tramp stamp?” Harry’s eyebrows rise, “thought maybe you’d be the type to get a front hip design.”

 

“Oh! That too,” Louis fully turns his body to cross his legs and lift up his shirt, “I want a – you know that Lion King thing when the monkey paints the cub on the tree?” Harry nods, “well that’s supposed to symbolize, like, remember where you come from or something? And like, I loved Doncaster so I want that on my left side.” Then he slides over his wrist with his thumb, “on my wrist I want an arrow, ‘cause it means to keep shooting forward and that’s – it’s like looking at the brighter side of situations rather than the negative. So when I look down at my wrist when I’m having a bad day or something it’ll help me.”

 

“You’ve really thought this through, huh?” Harry interrupts, amused but awed. He loves a guy who’s up to get some meaningful tattoos. “I have a few ideas but I just don’t know where to put them. Definitely want one on my side, like next to my ribs.”

 

“I can see you getting a crown somewhere,” he takes another hit, shutting his mouth and gently pulling Harry in closer by his jaw. Harry takes the hint, opening his mouth to let Louis breath smoke into it. He told Louis sometime early in their relationship he doesn’t really like first hand, preferring second hand smoke or a blow off like Louis _loves_ doing. It just gives him an excuse to kiss Harry even more, which of course he does as soon as Harry’s exhaled.

 

They snog for a good minute before Harry pulls back with a smirk, resting his forehead against his boyfriend’s, “A crown? Am a king or what?”

 

“You’re _my_ king,” Louis whispers, giggling immediately after, “nah, you’re more like a prince who’s waiting in line for the throne who in the meantime is breaking the rules of the royal family by dating a _flamboyantly_ gay servant who blows you after everyone in the castle is asleep.”

 

Harry bursts out with an obnoxiously loud laugh, “Where on earth do you even come up with that?”

 

“Well I’m the servant and you’re the prince –“

 

“I figured out the roles, babe,” he brushes his fingers in Louis’ hair, “it’s just interesting what you think of when you’re high.”

 

Louis smiles and shrugs, “I feel like I don’t think about really different things. But like, okay, this has been on my mind forever. What’s the point of a purse? It’s just a portable bag with all a girl’s essentials that screams _steal me_! Like, it was invented to be stolen so what’s the point you know?”

 

Harry stares at him, “I never would’ve thought to look at it like that.”

 

“Exactly,” Louis insists, clutching Harry’s shirt, “they don’t _want_ us look at it like that. They just want girls to have their bags stolen.”

 

“I’m pretty sure that’s not entirely true.”

 

“How do you know?” Louis laughs suddenly, staring down at Harry’s feet, “your feet look funny.”

 

“How?” he questions, tilting his head and looking down at his own feet.

 

“I don’t _know_ ,” he drags out, “I really shouldn’t be smoking before the expo, if Eleanor knew she would kill me, or worse, come back to be captain.”

 

“You don’t like her?” Harry asks, surprised.

 

“Like, Tiffany and her have been friends for forever so like I need to be friends with her to be friends with Tiff,” Louis casually confesses, not really caring that he’s openly saying this in front of Eleanor’s childhood best friend, “she’s kind of a bitch too, like she asked me the other day why I’m dating you – like what I’m using you for.”

 

Louis is a very truthful smoker – which is not always good. Whatever he tries to hide comes out either when he’s smoking weed or drinking heavily.

 

Harry blinks, shocked that Eleanor would ask that. Him and Eleanor became best friends when they were younger because of their social class – with their fathers being big time business owners. She was actually one of the first people Harry told about how much he liked Louis before they started dating – and Eleanor completely supported them. Why would she ask what Louis was using him for?

 

“But she moved away and I’m co-captain,” Louis sings, “we’re captains together Haz, well, you’re better at it than me, but we’re like the power couple of the school!”

 

“Yeah,” Harry nods, still in a daze, “yeah, we are.”

 

-

 

With one last jump, Louis finally has his spandex shorts pulled up so the fabric settles right on his hips. He’s late with getting ready, only giving himself a good ten minutes to get his bag together and get in his car. Harry, again, distracted Louis from even attempting to practice his routine – but hopefully Cheshire isn’t first in the expo so the team could run through the dance once. The whole team should know this routine like the back of their hands, Louis made everyone go through it twenty plus times.

 

Tiffany texted him about thirty minutes ago saying she was already at the guest high school waiting for girls, meaning Louis shouldn’t rush. It’s not like he _wants_ to rush, he’s just really nervous and stressed out and that turns into rushing. He’s never been in charge at an expo, Eleanor is usually the sane one who could pull the team together. Hopefully this will be his chance to prove he’s captain-worthy, being that Eleanor will just be watching in the stands. She would be helping if she didn’t tare her muscle a few days ago running.

 

Louis goes to his bathroom mirror, spreading some moose in his hands and calming down his fringe ( _again_ , Harry’s fault). He takes a long breath when he’s done, scanning his eyes over his body. He’s getting fatter, and paler with his lack of tanning. The last time he actually went to the gym or cared about his diet was a good month ago, when Harry and he became official. Now his uniform looks absolutely ridiculous with his stomach poking out through the shorts. He turns sideways in the mirror, wrinkling his nose at the bump. It honestly looks like he could be pregnant, which is more than not okay. He’s not eating tonight at dinner, he decides while spreading some concealer on below his eyes to cover the embarrassing dark spots. He can just say he doesn’t feel well, or just openly tell Jay he doesn’t like eating past 7. She knows about his somewhat diet, she’ll understand, Louis just prays Harry won’t try to say anything to make a scene.

 

“Fuck,” Louis jumps in surprise when Harry’s hands suddenly snake around his waist to rest on his hips, “this uniform is so sexy, baby.”

 

He mouths at Louis’ neck, but the smaller boy tries to push him away with a whine, “I can’t be hard or even have a semi for these shorts to not show anything Haz, tone it down,” but he ultimately giggles and turns in Harry’s arms. “Do you want a whole competition of guy cheerleaders – who are probably just as gay as me – staring at my dick while I’m doing a spilt in midair?” Harry’s eyes cloud over, instead of what Louis was expecting. He hits the boy playfully on the shoulder, “that shouldn’t turn you on!”

 

Harry laughs as Louis pushes him, but takes his hand and spins the boy back to fit against his chest, “knowing you’re coming home with me is the only thing I need to know to not to worry about those _other_ guys,” he mumbles, kissing Louis’ blushed cheek, “remember what happened this morning? I’m trying not to be that jealous anymore.”

 

“I know,” Louis sighs, smiling up at him, “and that’s good, but it _is_ kind of hot when you get all worked up.”

 

“Then I should take to the gym sometimes,” Harry suggests, “you’d think I’m lava.”

 

“Seriously? Lava?” the cheerleader rolls his eyes at Harry’s attempt but in the end laughs, “I already think you’re ‘lava’ but I do need to get on a treadmill. Come on, let’s get in the car Tiffany’s waiting.”

 

As Louis slides his bag on his shoulder, Harry adds, “I didn’t mean you need to work out when I said you should come to the gym,” hey walk out the front door, Louis turning around to make sure it’s locked, “you’re already really skinny, you need to _gain_ weight, if anything.”

 

“Who would want to gain weight?” Louis shakes his head amused, climbing in Harry’s truck while the captain slides into the driver’s seat, “I wanted to lose a few pounds at the beginning of the year but I’ve only gotten bigger. Do you see my stomach? And look at my thighs, they’re pale and –“

 

Harry starts the engine and reaches a hand to pinch at Louis’ non-existence tummy with two fingers, making Louis yelp and bring his legs up to try and hide it, “there’s nothing there! I don’t get what you’re trying to say about that - and what’s wrong with your _thighs_?” Harry rests his huge hand over the muscle, “they’re toned and tanned and _honestly_ so sexy. Just because you’re getting fit from cheering doesn’t mean they look bad.”

 

“I just don’t like my body, okay?” Louis huffs, watching as Harry steps on the gas pedal and they’re off, “I’m just trying to be healthy, too, it’s not like I hate myself enough to stop eating.”

 

Harry’s eyebrows fury, but he doesn’t choose to comment on that and shrugs his shoulders. “So where am I going again?”

 

-

 

Louis now sits at _Picasso_ or _Pintera_ or whatever random Italian restaurant his parents picked out, waiting for said parents and Harry to show up. Cheshire got second place, which sucks in his mind, but Tiffany and the team were pretty happy so he was too. Harry needed to head home to drop off Oliver at rec basketball, so Louis went home, got dressed, and came to the restaurant early – maybe a bit too early. It’s just – this is the first time he’s formally introducing a guy to his parents, meaning he’s super nervous and jittery. There’s been more times than Louis can count that Jay has awkwardly seen him and a random guy stumble upstairs, only to watch the guy try to sneak out early the next morning or stay for breakfast for an equally if not more awkward conversation but never be seen again afterwards. Jay was okay with it, well, as okay as a parent of a 16-year-old having random shags with two babies sleeping not two rooms away.

 

Harry isn’t one of those guys, he was at first, but now Louis can’t even describe how much the boy has made an impact on his life. He can honestly say he sees him and Harry together through college and even go as far as to get married – however he blocks that image right away because he’s _way_ too young to think like that. Right now, he needs to focus on having an amazing dinner with his amazing parents – well, amazing Jay. His dad is only good for money at this point.

 

A hand suddenly touches his shoulder, then slides down his arm in a warming way that he knows is his boyfriend before batting an eyelash. Harry whispers a “hi babe” before kissing his cheek and sitting next to him at the four-person table. He’s wearing a blue long sleeve button up that is littered with white hearts, black jeans, and black shoes.

 

Louis wrinkles his nose at the shirt, letting his hand feel over the material on Harry’s chest thoughtfully, “interesting choice,” he chuckles, but ultimately nods, “I love it, though.”

 

“Good ‘cause I had no idea what kind of restaurant your parents picked out,” Harry lays his hand on top of Louis’ on the table, “and I’m glad I went for a button up,” he adds, looking around at the candle lite atmosphere.

 

The cheerleader is dressed in a casual white sweater and maroon skinny jeans, but to add a personal touch to it he’s wearing black and white marijuana leaf print Vans. He shrugs his shoulders, looking down at his own outfit, “I didn’t really try, ‘cause it’s just my mom’s opinion I care about – and yours. Look at my new Vans though,” Harry lifts up the table cloth to look under the table, “I ordered them off Etsy.”

 

“Nice,” Harry comes back up and smiles, “is there a white and black pair? I never really know what to get Zayn for his birthday so I could just get him those, if that’s okay.”

 

“Yeah, totally, Zayn would love these,” Louis tilts his head, “and when’s his birthday again? He told me before but I’m really bad at remembering shit,” he makes both of them laugh.

 

“January 12th,” Harry answers.

 

“Right,” he nods, remembering, “we’re both winter babies – that was the excuse I had in my mind to why we’d be perfect together.”

 

“You thought about dating Zayn?” Harry sputters, watching as Louis laughs at his expression, “how come I was never told this?”  


“Well,” Louis takes a breath, but lets out one more giggle before continuing, “I just thought he was really hot and we hooked up, like, twice, so I thought if he asked me out I… wouldn’t say no?” he trails off, gauging Harry’s reaction.

 

Harry smiles, “oh I see, you refuse to even _think_ about hooking up with me for weeks but as soon as pretty little Zayn raised a finger, you’d melt and do whatever he asked.”

 

Louis hits his arm while Harry laughs, “I just let him finger me on the first day - you would’ve done the same thing if you met him for the first time.”

 

“From what I heard, he was about to fuck you properly but I interrupted before _that_ could happen,” Harry whispers, aware they’re in a public place, “and I’m really glad I did ‘cause I wouldn’t like to imagine you fucking anyone else but in our school but me.”

 

“You’re so possessive,” Louis murmurs, leaning to slot his lips with Harry’s with some force, but he pulls back abruptly, “it’s so hot.”

 

“I try,” Harry shrugs, smirking.

 

Just as Louis’s about to change the subject and ask if Zayn’s planning anything for his birthday, he looks past Harry’s head and sees Jay walk up to the hostess. Not far behind trails Troy, looking as bald and old as ever. Looking at them side by side, he has no idea why Jay would ever go for someone like Troy, but then Louis grimaces at the thought of growing up to look like him – he won’t let that happen, surely.

 

Louis swallows down a bit of water the waitress brought out to them, and stands to greet the two.


	28. chapter xxix

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The test?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> THIS IS SHORT IM SORRY I JUST WANTED TO MAKE A POINT, NEXT FEW CHAPTERS ILL TRY TO MAKE LONGER
> 
> ily and sorry again for the late night update, I just always forget to do it during the day

Louis has always loved Jay – she’s a master from food to actually knowing how to communicate. She was – and still is – as gorgeous as any celebrity in high school, as Louis has seen through old photos, and Troy was obviously attracted to her. Thing is, Troy was a druggie who won her heart because he had a few tattoos at the time and hung around with other burn outs behind convenient stores that obviously excited sweet innocent Jay. She had everything going for her and she still settled for lousy old Troy who didn’t want to go to college or get a real job because he was the ‘hot bad boy everyone wanted’ at the time.

She abandoned her dream of shooting for a great college, which she said she was almost guaranteed to be accepted to Cambridge, to stay home to be with Troy. A degree in business from the local community college left her with no job and little hope for her future.

Troy’s parent were filthy rich, they bathed in money with tubs made of gold, and didn’t want to help Troy because he would just blow it on drugs. Then Jay got pregnant with Louis. Everything spiraled out of control from that point on, making Jay’s life even more miserable. Troy only stayed around for about a year – and by “stayed around”, he just popped into Jay’s rundown apartment she could barely afford on waitress tips to make sure Louis wasn’t dead – then left Jay in the dust when his parents started feeding money back into his bank account.

Louis has never met Troy’s parents, his _grandparents_ for crying out loud, and doubt they even know he exists. When he was younger, Louis would often sit in his bedroom at night wondering if his life would be different if he had a dad who cared, while Jay cried herself to sleep in the next room over. He thought when Mark came along when he was entering high school that him and Jay’s life would change – it did, technically, because the twins came into the picture. Other than that, Louis’ life went back to the same routine when Mark also ditched Jay. Louis didn’t remember when Troy left, but he was able to have the whole situation reenacted as he was just getting used to his first year in high school.

So as Louis watches Troy follow Jay to the table where he and Harry stand waiting, he has half a nerve to yell at him to leave. Troy has no right being here, meeting his first real boyfriend, when he wasn’t even part of his life from the start. Sure, at the age of ten Troy started sending checks with thousands of dollars each month to help with child support, but does that really given him the entitlement to be here? _With_ Jay out of all people?

Louis hugs his mum when she finally reaches their table, ignoring Troy and giving her all his attention, “hello sweetheart,” she kisses his cheek.

“Hi,” he greets her warmly, stepping back to showcase Harry, who’s smiling in the way that makes his dimples appear. Louis knows he can smile without them as well, but he knows how it charms the ladies.

“Pleasure to see you again, Ms. Tomlinson,” Harry puts out a hand for her to shake.

Louis can feel Jay’s slight eye roll at the gesture, then steps across Louis to give Harry a hug as well, “nice to see you too sweetie. Glad we can finally meet properly,” she pulls back and winks at Louis. Louis huffs at the memory of when he got grounded because he lied about going out on a date with Harry – he understands the moral behind not lying to Jay however. “And what did I tell you all those weeks ago? Please call me Jay, I hate Ms. Tomlinson, makes me like I’m older.”

“Will do, Jay,” Harry nods.

“You’re not old mum,” Louis laughs, letting Jay go around the table to take her seat across from him.

Troy coughs from behind Louis, making the boy realize he has to also greet him (and he might slightly grimace when he makes eye contact, too, but no one would acknowledge it). The last time he saw Troy he was going into tenth grade and Jay needed money for a new apartment because they were moving again. They drove to a gas station to meet up with Troy, and Jay instructed for Louis to stay in the car. Now, Troy looks even older, with his pepper shaker head and growing facial hair.

“Did you get shorter?” Troy tries to break the ice with a joke, poking at Louis’ stomach. He goes for a hug, however Louis lets him wrap his arms around him without as much as a twitch.

“You’re not funny,” Louis spits dryly, brushing his sweater off as Troy pulls away.

“What? No hello? Or how about, ‘hey, haven’t seen you in while, how’ve you been?’”

“It’s not my fault I haven’t seen you in a while,” Louis squints his eyes, “honestly how _dense_ are you –“

“Louis.” Jay asked him kindly over text before this to be to kind to Troy, because he _is_ paying for Louis in a lot more ways than he’s aware of. Louis bites his tongue and glances at Jay.

“I’m great,” he mutters instead, skipping the whole ‘how’re you? I’m fine, how about yourself?’

Troy knows not to try and question Louis, so he turns to the tall boy with brown curly hair next to him. This young man looks awfully familiar, he has huge green eyes and a square face, which remind him of an old business partner his father introduced him to a few years back – Des. “What’s your name, son?”

“You’re not my father sir, please don’t call me that,” Harry politely requests, but answers, “Harry Styles.” Louis smirks down at his shoes at Harry’s snide comment.

“So you _are_ Des’ boy!” Troy exclaims, putting out a hand for Harry to shake.

Harry’s huge hand firmly grasps Troy’s, smiling awkwardly while doing so, “yes, sir.”

“No wonder you’re dating him, Louis, you got yourself a keeper here, this boy has enough money in his inheritance to put a _least_ a hundred kids through college –“

“Troy,” Jay quickly intervenes before Louis has the time to say something he’d regret, “please just keep money out of the conversation tonight. This is supposed to be about _Louis and Harry_ not Harry’s family wealth.”

Harry slightly blushes under the attention. Louis nods with his mum, ever so grateful she decided to tag along and not leave Louis and Harry to deal with Troy alone. The waitress comes over to the table as the four sit down, with Louis and Harry on one side and Jay and Troy on the other. Troy orders the strongest hard liquor they can serve, adding on an ‘it’s gonna be a long night’ just to piss Louis off. Harry slides a hand on Louis’ thigh, squeezing his fingers gently and rubbing his thumb soothingly against the fabric near his crotch as a reminder of what comes later tonight, also for reassurance Harry’s got his back. Louis’ glare wipes off his face at the feeling, and a shiver runs up his spine. Louis orders a virgin Pina Colada, Jay orders a Shirley Temple, and Harry orders a pink lemonade.

When the waitress leaves, the table falls silent. Louis and Harry look sideways at each other, then back up at the two parents.

“So Harry darling, I only get to hear what Louis says about you, tell me about yourself,” Jay starts, leaning back against her chair. She choosily ignores Harry’s hand that’s currently rubbing Louis’ thigh.

“You play any sports?” Troy asks, blowing off the open question Jay put out to make Harry less pressured. Louis rests his chin in his palm, dangling his head to look at his boyfriend.

“Only football,” Harry’s voice is low and serious, which makes him sound professional and so fucking sexy Louis has to restrain from pouncing, “’m the captain.”

Troy nods like he’s impressed, “your team any good?”

“I’d say so,” Harry scratches his nose with his free hand, “we won championships a few times, but only once since I’ve been in high school.”

“And you’re a senior like Louis, right?”

“Yes, sir.”

“How are you in school, sweetie?” Jay asks, “I would hope you’re not failing all your classes.”

Harry chuckles as he shakes his head no, “I’ve been on silver honor roll all four years, just could never get gold because of history. I never really enjoyed the subject, or the teacher.”

“Yeah, Mr. Fitz teaches all World History classes and it’s not fun,” Louis grimaces, “and his are the basic classes, for kids who don’t want to go to AP.”

“Why don’t you want to go to AP?” Troy questions, “AP courses are what get you into a good college.”

“That’s not entirely true, sir,” Harry says, “depending if the university you want accepts AP credits, and you might have to take the class again in the first basic two years. It helps though, because it shows the school you can handle a college-level course.”

“There’s always the pros and cons,” Jay states, “but Louis and Harry are in the same AP English class, Troy. Actually, the guidance counselor was the one to take Louis out of regular classes and bump him up to AP because he was doing so well.”

“Really now?” Troy looks at Louis with a proud grin, “I didn’t know you had a gift for writing.”

“I’m kind of good at analyzing, it’s not a gift,” Louis shrugs, choosing not to say ‘you don’t know a lot about me’.

Harry hates how Louis degrades his talent in English. Louis is usually the one to get a 9 or a close 10 on each paper, while everyone else gets 7 or 8. “Louis is really smart when it comes to anything really, English is just his specialty.”

“Harry stop,” Louis cutely whines, “no I’m not.”

“Yes you are, babe,” Harry smiles fondly, “you got gold honor roll this marking period.”

“You did?” Jay brightens, “you never showed me your report card from the first marking period.”

Louis nods, “well the second marking period ends right before winter break, so remind me to show you it then.”

“What’s the difference between silver and gold honor roll?” Troy questions.

“Silver is 85 or above in all your classes and gold is 90 and above,” Harry answers.

“That’s amazing, Lou!” Jay exclaims.

“Louis,” Troy directs his attention to his son, who has to painfully tear his eyes away from Harry to look at the man, “you play football too, yeah? Colleges like when you play a sport on top of good grades.”

“No, actually he’s co-captain of the cheering team,” Jay smiles brilliantly at her son, “he’s only been at Cheshire for three and half months and he’s already one of the captains! Isn’t that amazing?”

Louis sees the look of pure confusion appear on Troy’s face and almost laughs. “ _Cheering_?” Troy draws out, looking at Jay as if Louis isn’t in the room, “my son is bouncing around effing _cheering_ when he could be on the field? What the hell, Jay?”

“Why don’t you yell at me instead of criticizing her?” Louis snarls, and Troy looks at him, “why is such a big deal that I like cheering? It’s just as much as a sport as football.”

“The cheer team is really good, too, they go to nationals every year,” Harry tries to help, “and without them the football team wouldn’t, you know, have the push we need to win. We’re like a big family – football and cheer.”

“Well yeah, ‘cause you fuck my son behind the bleachers after the game, don’t you?” Troy looks Harry straight in the eye as he says this, which makes the boy choke on his own spit.

“What the _fuck_?” Louis cries.

“Louis!” Jay reprimands, because now everyone in the restaurant is looking at them, “Troy please, that’s not necessary,” she angrily whispers.

“I wasn’t born yesterday, Jay,” Troy points to Harry, who’s sipping at the lemonade the waitress just put down on the table to subdue his coughing, “he’s a good looking kid, he’s bound to get Louis naked one way or another.”

“Louis,” Harry chokes out his name, indicating with his wide, scared eyes that’s he’s extremely uncomfortable right now. It’s not like Louis’ cheeks aren’t burning red with embarrassment and anger or anything.

“Louis and Harry don’t really have sex a lot from what he tells me,” Jay, oh sweet Jay, doesn’t help at all.

“Mum!” Louis scolds her.

“See!” Troy smiles smugly, “I’m not wrong, they’ve fucked before. Let me guess, the first night you met him you got so drunk that you guys stumbled into a bed and did it right there.”

Louis’ lack of a denial has Troy clapping his hands and laughing, “I’m actually right? I thought you’d have at least an _ounce_ of respect for your body, Louis.”

Harry’s jaw clenches so tight a vein appears on his neck.

“One time,” Louis buries his face in his hands, “one fucking time I bring my boyfriend to dinner with you and mum to introduce you like every typical parent wants and you manage to call me a gold digger and a slut that gets naked and fucked behind bleachers within fifteen minutes. Why can’t you just…“ Louis’ words cut off with shaky breath, and Harry knows he’s about to cry. Harry takes control of the situation and slides his chair back to fully face Louis, gently turning the boy’s body to face him and removing Louis’ hands from covering his face. There are tears at the corner of his eyes.

Harry looks at Troy with a look that screams ‘I’d kill you right now for making my boyfriend cry if you weren’t his dad’, instead gritting out, “I think we’d all love if stopped, sir.”

Jay goes to stand up to go to Louis, but Harry nods at her with an ‘I got it covered’. Louis has never appreciated Harry’s self-control and maturity until right now – he feels like he could be protected from the Mafia with Harry by his side.

“Why don’t you both calm down and stop causing a scene?” Troy rolls his eyes, taking a sip of his brandy.

“Do you not understand how much tonight means to Louis?” Harry doesn’t say ‘your son’ for a reason, “he _wanted_ you to be here. He could’ve just introduced me to Jay and told you over the phone that he’s dating me, but he wanted your approval, sir. Louis might not show that he respects you, but he does, because you _are_ his father whether you want to be or not.” Louis wipes his eyes, having stopped himself from crying, and Harry continues, “you clearly do not have the room to be making jokes or comments on Louis’ sex life, and what him and I do behind closed doors is _not_ your business to discuss. In fact, you have no _right_ saying all this in a public restaurant, and even if this was in a home there’s no reason to bring it up. So unless you want Louis to completely lose all dying respect for you as a person, not even as a father, I suggest you shut the fuck up,” Harry’s hand is now around his boy’s waist, as Louis has a hand that’s clinging to his sweater like his life depends on it, and he tacks on a mocking “sir.”

The waitress who brought the four drinks stare at Harry, along with the whole restaurant, in shock. Jay looks at Troy, waiting for an apology. Troy opens his mouth to rebut Harry’s words, but closes it once more – Harry’s stumped him.

See, with Harry’s dad being a big time business owner, he’s been taught how to talk in way that’s polite but gets your point across that you’re not fucking around. Growing up he’s watched as his dad dealt with people like Troy, who are usually ill-mannered older men who try knock Des down. It’s all about how you choose to handle the situation – you can either a) throw a punch and get arrested for assault or b) slaughter them with words. Harry’s dad loves the word _slaughter_ in the business-world, it makes it seem as if he’s cutting up his rivals to be sold like cheap slices of meat.

“Let’s go,” Harry whispers in Louis’ ear.

“Wait,” Troy stands up, facing Harry directly, and stares him straight in the eyes. Jay panics for a brief second that Troy will get violent, but then the man asks, “Will you protect my son?”

Harry doesn’t hesitate, “Of course, sir.”

Another few seconds Troy just keeps his eyes trained on Harry, as if he’s judging him, then he puts out a hand. Harry stares at the outstretched hand in confusion, nonetheless meets him half way. “If you’re brave enough to stand up to a boy’s father, I have no doubt you’ll be about to protect him,” he lets the dumbfounded Harry’s hand drop, “and Louis,” the boy looks at Troy with raised eyebrows, “I’m sorry, I didn’t know you’d start crying. I was just trying to see how Harry would react if someone keep pounding on you. I even told your mother about it.”

“ _What_?” Louis breathes out.

“I’m confused,” Harry’s eyebrows are drawn together, “this was a test?”

“You passed?” Jay looks at Harry with a hopeful expression. She knew Harry was a good lad, but she and Troy wanted to be assure Harry could be the man in Louis and his relationship and stand up for him when the time was right – she just wishes it could’ve been done in a quieter manner.

“I – I’m so sorry, sir,” Harry quickly looks to Troy with worry, “I wouldn’t have cursed if I knew – I just… well, I mean if that was to see how I’d stick up for Louis, then I guess -”

Troy nods with a laugh, “don’t fret, boy. I actually wouldn’t have minded if you used a few more colorful terms.”

“Oh my god,” Louis shakes his head, “you guys planned -? I thought this was all ruined.”

Jay and Troy laugh together like they never had a bad past, “I wanted to be a real dad for a change,” Troy shrugs, “and any parent doesn’t want his son dating a pansy.”

Louis looks at Troy with in a new perspective for the first time since he decided he hated the man for what he did to Jay. No, he doesn’t just forgive him after one time proving he cares about his wellbeing, but this is a start. Jay decided years ago she’s not going to hold a grudge over what happen when both she and Troy were reckless teenagers that were stupidly, blindly in love – that’s how they are able to sit next to each other right now, settled with a mutual arrangement that it’s both their responsibility to take care of Louis. The twins aren’t Troy’s children, but he sends Jay money to help with the two girls as well, Louis just chooses to overlook that with the all the other things Troy has done wrong. ‘Everyone makes mistakes,’ Jay would say, ‘it took Troy years to realize what he’s done, but now he’s a new person.’

If only Louis could have the same mentality for forgiving people as his mum, or not simply forgiving them, but rather accepting not everyone can be perfect – because life goes on and holding onto a grudge forever is why there’s no peace in this world.

“Okay,” the tension in Louis’ shoulders dies. He takes Harry’s hand, who sat down while Louis was staring at Troy for a good minute in thought, and squeezes it, reassuring that _he’s_ is the one who has a handle on the situation now, “okay, let’s start over.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry for the shortness again :-) thank you guys for waiting (I know I said this would be done in a week but two weeks isn't that bad, right? :*) next chapter is harry and louis' two month anniversary so im planning on making that over like 5000 words if I can so yay
> 
> anyway, thank you so much for the support and IM SORRY I DIDNT REPLY TO COMMENTS ON THE LAST CHAPTER ILL GO BACK AND DO THAT NOW but okay ily so so so much mwah


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